"…No, I haven’t killed him yet. As planned, he’s been locked up in the special prison.”

"You’ve got to be kidding me! I can’t accept this! That bastard killed my men! I’m going to kill him for sure!”

Jilbe's anger was palpable; his subordinates were killed right in front of him. I fully understood his fury. Those men were loyal to me, and I too was enraged by their loss.

"Of course, depending on future circumstances, we may publicly execute the Hero. But for now, hold off.”

"…If you insist, I’ll challenge you to a duel again!”

"Fine. If you truly cannot accept it, I’ll accept your challenge again. But wait a little. It’s possible that for the Hero, a fate worse than death is in store.”

"…What do you mean by that?”

Splash

"Ugh, what the—?! Pfft, pfft! Where am I?”

"So, you’ve finally woken up, Hero.”

"You—you’re the Demon Lord! Damn it! My hands and legs won’t move! What is this?!”

After attending to Jilbe’s men and bringing back the bodies of those who had been killed, I returned to the castle’s special underground chamber where the Hero was held.

"What the—?! My skills aren’t working!”

This underground chamber was designed specifically for imprisoning the Hero. Thanks to Debra’s research, it was equipped with a magic circle that completely nullifies the skills and magic of humans.

You might think we could have used this during battle, but the circle consumes enormous amounts of magic and has a ridiculously small effective range. Using it during combat was not realistic.

Its effectiveness, however, was unparalleled. I had personally tested it and found that neither magic nor skills could be used within its bounds.

Even I couldn’t afford to get too close to the imprisoned Hero, as my own skills would also be deactivated.

"This is a custom-made prison, just for you. No magic, no skills—you’ll have to rely on sheer strength to break your restraints.”

"You’ve got to be kidding me!”

The metal binding the Hero was mined from the demon territories, boasting the highest level of durability. Even with brute strength, breaking it was impossible without the aid of magic or skills.

"Damn it! Even teleportation magic doesn’t work!”

Ah, so he had teleportation magic as well. It made sense; anyone infiltrating the Demon Lord’s castle alone would need a quick escape route.

"Why don’t you just kill me already?”

"I’ve got some good news for you. At some point—though it might take years—you’ll be returned to your original world through the Hero’s Return Ritual.”

"What?!”

"What’s wrong? You’ll return to your world alive. You might lose your magic and skills, and time will have passed, but shouldn’t you be grateful for the chance to go back?”

"I—I… No, wait. Demon Lord, I surrender! I’ll never attack the demon territories again, I swear! Just let me return to the human realm!”

"Sorry, but that’s not an option. The only thing I can do for you is send you back to your original world.”

"I don’t need that kind of help! …N-no, never mind. Please, Demon Lord! I’ll even join your side! With my strength, you’ll win this war in no time!”

"……”

What an unabashedly despicable guy. Did he honestly think I’d believe him?

"It’s already decided: you’ll return to your world. We’ll bring you simple meals every day. Until then, enjoy counting down the days.”

"Wait! Please! I’m telling you, I can be useful! I don’t want to go back to that world!”

The Hero’s desperate cries echoed through the prison as I left without looking back.

Of course, public execution was still an option, but keeping it a secret for now would plunge the Hero into even deeper despair.

"So, feeling a little better now?”

"…I don’t get it. Why was that guy so upset about returning to his world?”

"I don’t understand it either…”

Outside the prison, Jilbe and Lugaro waited. I’d deliberately let them listen in on my conversation with the Hero.

"In my world, there are some people who don’t want to return to their original world at any cost. For this Hero, his future will likely be far worse than death.”

While the Hero was unconscious, we had someone with a memory-reading skill investigate his past.

I wondered if being summoned to this world had made him the way he was, but that wasn’t the case. He was a loner in middle and high school, eventually dropping out and spending his days holed up at home, attacking others online through social media.

Summoned to another world, granted cheat-like powers, and living out a dream where everything went his way—only to be stripped of it all and locked up for years, before being returned to his powerless, mundane life? That would indeed be hell.

Moreover, he’d been summoned five years ago while in high school. Even if we gathered the magical materials for the ritual as fast as possible, it would take another five years. By then, he’d have spent over a decade stuck in limbo. Returning to his old world after all that time wouldn’t make life any easier.

"For now, the Hero’s fate is settled. Let’s focus on finishing this war between humans and demons once and for all.”