Just as Adelio had hoped, the three [Primordial Demons] fortunately did not come to blows.
The barrier surrounding the White Ice Palace had suffered a few minor cracks from the pressure of their clashing magic at the start, but with Velzard there, it was hardly a problem.
If anything, considering that three demons stronger than [Disaster]-class had confronted each other and it had ended with only this much damage, Guy thought it was downright lucky.
"Looks like you settled it even better than I expected. I figured you’d lose at least an arm."
That was what Guy Crimson said as he looked at Adelio, who had returned safely in barely half a day.
As always, Guy sat on his throne drinking wine, adding that he had been preparing himself in case the three demon women went berserk.
Of course, to Adelio, it looked less like preparation and more like he had just been drinking and watching the whole thing.
"...Is that really what you say to a subordinate who barely made it back alive?"
When Adelio stared at him in disbelief at how absurdly relaxed he looked, Guy merely shrugged.
They treated each other rather casually.
Since theirs had never been a particularly solemn bond of [King] and subordinate from the start, Adelio could speak with Guy far more lightly than he could with Rain or Misery.
In any case,
getting back to the point, Guy did have his own excuse.
"It just means I was that surprised. I’ve never once thought it would be possible to talk those girls down once they were consumed by anger."
To Guy, who had watched the other [Primordial Demons] for far longer than Adelio had, their choice had been completely unexpected.
Rain and Misery, who used to pick fights in hell for no reason at all. And Ria, who had once been even crueler than Guy himself.
Having experienced their past firsthand, he still found it hard to believe that such a change had happened because of a single subordinate standing before him.
As always, what a fascinating soul. Being born with the fate of a [Hero] alone doesn’t explain this ability.
And it wasn’t only others that he changed.
To make up for his shortcomings, he kept breaking through the limits imposed on him as a demon and continuously growing stronger himself.
"Come to think of it, it seems you gained [the body of a saint] through this evolution. Were you able to handle it properly?"
"..."
At Guy’s sudden shift in topic, Adelio fell briefly into memory.
Back to the duel in hell that had brought about his second evolution, [Deva Lord].
Back to the sensation of using [Heroic Aura] and [Demon Lord's Haki] at the same time for the very first time.
"...No. I could force out my full power recklessly enough, but I couldn’t completely [fuse] it with my power as a demon."
At the time, he had certainly been able to freely mix the power of a [Hero] with a demon’s magic power.
But that had not been a completed form.
It was far too refined to call incomplete, yet if asked whether it was close to perfection, that wasn’t true either.
That was why the ash-gray magic power symbolizing his demonic strength and the golden magic power symbolizing his power as a [Hero] had emerged separately.
"Hm... that may simply be because your power as a [Hero] has grown stronger than your power as a demon."
Until recently, his body had been [the body of a sage], so his demonic power, which was on the level of a Devil Lord, had been stronger. But now that his body had evolved through this latest evolution, the balance may have shifted because of that.
If Guy’s hypothesis was correct, then the way to restore that balance was simple.
"There’s no need to worry. That much can be controlled well enough through training alone."
Guy’s training could hone not only basic abilities like magic skill or level of technique, but also [Arts] and willpower, making it possible to raise Adelio’s demonic power to match his body.
To begin with, Guy was universally acknowledged as the strongest demon, so when it came to cultivating demonic power, he was second to none.
"Then starting today, we’ll begin your training right awai-"
"Please wait a moment. It’s impossible to start today."
It was better to begin training early, but starting right now was impossible.
Adelio still had a promised [Contract] with those two, Chronoa and Hinata Sakaguchi.
"...And what is it this time?"
Guy’s response was lukewarm, as if Adelio’s current strength still failed to satisfy him.
Still, he did not force the issue. He knew that training done while the mind was occupied elsewhere was worse than not training at all.
So for the moment, he decided to hear Adelio out.
"Do you remember the [Hero] who sealed Veldora a few years ago?"
"Of course. If you mean the [Hero] named Chronoa, then naturally I remember. Does this have something to do with her?"
"Yes. I have a [Contract] with that [Hero], so I need to make a brief trip to a nation in the West."
"Oh? A [Contract], you say..."
At the mention of the word [Contract], Guy began to show a little interest.
Most [Heroes] would never ask a demon for a [Contract], so the fact that a [Hero] strong enough to seal a True Dragon had made one with Adelio intrigued him.
There had been a few [Heroes] in the past who made [Contracts] with demons, but every one of them had been weaklings lacking power.
"And where exactly is this nation in the West?"
However,
what stirred even greater interest in Guy was the name of the country Adelio spoke of.
The nation Adelio had promised to visit together with Chronoa was...
"The territory of Demon Lord Valentine-"
a land ruled by one of the Ten Demon Lords, the [Queen] known as the Queen of Nightmare, and...
"-the Holy Empire [Ru-Lawather]."
the place most feared by monsters, where the Western Holy Church was based.
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