#1121 Earth’s Final Boss 

Yup, it’s me again. 

At the Demon King’s urging, I step forward for a grand introduction... and promptly incurred the wrath of certain folks. 
Namely, the big-shot ministers of the Demon Kingdom. 

Well, I can see why they'd be mad. Imagine some stranger shows up out of the blue, is obviously way stronger than they are, and then snatches the credit for the policies they've been pushing. 

On top of that, they've been locked in a war for who knows how many years, finally scored a victory, and are just starting to gloat, only to hear, “Actually, you guys only won because I helped.” Of course they'd be annoyed. 

If this had been me in the past, I'd have kept my mouth shut out of consideration for their feelings. But I'm done with that now. 

I have people who admire and depend on me. For their sake, I can’t let myself be walked all over. 

If they're really suspicious of my power, then they should check it out to their hearts’ content! 

Sensei! Veil! 
I’m counting on you!!! 

“Aye-aye, got it!” 
“Once again, we find ourselves summoned to a bustling place.” 

Yes, I said “my strength,” but now I’m immediately borrowing someone else’s. 

The Demon Kingdom’s ministers, confronted with a Lifeless King and a dragon in human form standing side by side, nearly collapsed in terror. 

“Gyaaaah?! A Lifeless King?!” 
“He turned himself undead of his own free will… That’s so sinister, wait, is that…holy energy?” 

See, Sensei’s spent the last few years at our Farm School, gaining a holy attribute. 
Honestly, he’s practically more blessed than some run-of-the-mill deity. 

“We are those who serve Lord Saint. We appear now only in answer to his call.” 

When this transcendent being known as Sensei speaks, a fearsome pressure blasts out. The ministers, who have zero real battlefield experience, can only cower in terror. 

“Hmph. Pathetic that those meant to defend their nation’s fate in debate can’t even stand upright. And these are the people bragging about ruling the surface?” 
“Seriously, ignoring us dragons to claim you’re on top of the world is just plain dumb. If you’re so bent on being number one, I can fight you on behalf of dragonkind whenever you want.” 

Veil might be throwing out threats in the form of a little girl, but the ministers clearly don’t grasp how terrifying she really is. 
She’s only in human form for convenience. Needless to say, in her true form, she’s a dreadfully powerful dragon. 

“U-Um...” 
“Huh?” 
“Why is there a little girl… standing next to the Lifeless King?” 

It’s a fair question, so when one of the ministers asks, Veil’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Graaagh! These jerks think I’m some harmless kid? How dare they judge me by my looks! Rrgh!!!” 

Veil, please calm down!  
They’re just bureaucrats, not fighters. Cut them some slack! 

“Fine! Then I’ll just show them my true form and make ’em wet their pants! Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kill anyone, so Master won’t be mad at me!” 

Whoa, whoa, time out.  
We’re indoors! If you transform into a dragon here, you’ll collapse the entire Demon King’s castle, and the ministers will end up buried under the rubble!  
I’m begging you—don’t do it! Pull yourself together! 

… 
Phew, crisis averted. 

“Suddenly, I’ve cooled off. On second thought, there’s no point wasting my full power on these twats. That’s what we call the composure of the truly strong!” 

And indeed, the ministers are mostly paralyzed on the floor. 
Veil didn’t actually go through with transforming, but the mere hint of her draconic aura was enough to keep them pinned. 

“All it took was pretending to transform to knock the lot of them out of commission. Hard to believe they tried to pick a fight with you, Master.” 
“We cannot simply ignore anyone who’d oppose Lord Saint. Opposing Lord Saint is the same as opposing us. Best remember that.” 

The ministers, chastened by Sensei’s stern warning, can’t even muster the energy to respond. 
Over on the sidelines, the Demon King tries—and fails—to hold back a laugh. 

“…Forgive me. They’re my subordinates, but the way they’re trembling like characters in a cheap cartoon is too much... Still, this might actually help our nation in the end.” 

Scaring people is good for national interests? 

“As mentioned earlier, after our victory in the war, some of us have grown a bit conceited. All ruin begins with arrogance, after all. By letting Veil and Sensei scare us straight, we can hopefully root out that problem and tighten discipline.” 

Glad to hear it.  
I was worried they’d hold a grudge. 

“Oho, sounds like quite the party in here.” 

Just then, the door clicks open, and a group of men and women enters.  
That languid, drawn-out voice… Belphgamilia? 

Leading the way is Belphgamilia of the Demon King’s Heavenly Four—labeled the Corrupted. 
Followed by Mamoru, the Coveted.  
Aeshma, the Wild. 
And Leviasa, the Malicious. 

All four of the Demon King's top generals are together?! 

The Demon King greets them. 

“You’re late. I’ll bet it took ages to wake Belphgamilia.” 
“Hey, you’re the one who called me all of a sudden. As they say, you can’t just snap out of a nap.” 
 “You know you shouldn’t be napping on the job in the first place.” 

Ah, the usual back-and-forth. 

Belphgamilia glances around the now-chaotic meeting hall. 

“Well, looks like things turned out exactly how I imagined. I could practically feel Sensei’s undead aura and Viel’s dragon aura radiating down the hallway. Not exactly something a bunch of clerks could handle head-on, right?” 
“That pretty much sums it up. But it’s on them for refusing to acknowledge Lord Saint. They demanded proof and told us to bring out something convincing… so out came Sensei and Viel. Simple as that.” 
“If they’ll only believe what they see, then we’ve just gotta show them, huh?” 

With that, the Demon Lord and Belphgamilia share a hearty laugh. 
The ministers, meanwhile, can only gape in growing confusion. 

“Lord Saint! It’s been too long!!!” 

That’s Aeshma and Leviasa running over to me, also members of the Heavenly Four. 

“We’re so thrilled you’ll finally be openly supporting the Demon Kingdom! As high-ranking officers of the Demon King’s Army, we welcome you wholeheartedly!” 
“This will only make our peace more secure, and hopefully lighten our workload.” 

They both trained on my farm once upon a time, so we’ve known each other for a while.  
I can still picture them in those days, so eager as they practiced under Sensei. 

Mamoru stands a step behind them, offering me a somewhat strained smile. 

“All four Generals are chummy with that guy… Who in the world is he?” one of the ministers mumbles from where he’s collapsed. 

“I keep telling you, Master is the Saint.” 
“Friendly with all four Generals… so the Saint actually has the entire military wrapped around his finger?!” 

Nah, I’ve just lived long enough to meet a lot of people. 

“B-Belphgamilia… Lord Belphgamilia…!”  
“Hmm?” 

One of the ministers asks, quaking. 

“Now that you’re effectively leading the army in place of the Demon King, I must ask: the Demon King Army’s the mightiest on the surface. If we brought its full might to bear against the Saint, would we…?” 
“…Lose. Absolutely. One hundred percent.” 

Belphgamilia states it, blunt as can be. 

“You’ve seen Sensei and Veil up close, and you still want to ask that? Look, if the Demon King or my fellow demons were in danger, I’d fight those two catastrophes in a heartbeat. Against some random dragon or second-rate Lifeless King, I wouldn’t back down an inch, you know?” 

Belphgamilia might sound like he’s bragging, but that’s the scary part, he’s hardly exaggerating.  

He’s hailed as humanity’s strongest fighter, trained directly by one of the mightiest Lifeless Kings, and even managed to become one himself without actually dying first. 

So, if we’re talking a run-of-the-mill dragon or some average undead, he’d definitely win. 

“But Sensei and Veil are on another level. They’re top-tier even among undead kings and dragons. If we ever had to fight them, I’d grab the Demon King and run for it. While they’re busy killing you all, I’d use that time to get as far away as possible.” 

His voice might be easygoing, but his words stab deep. Even if he's joking, it’s a bit dark, and the ministers find themselves speechless. 

“Huh, talk about bold, you pseudo-corpse. But don’t underestimate me, either. If I felt like it, I could turn these puny humans into charcoal in under a second.” 
“You shouldn’t underestimate me, either. In less than a second, I’d whisk the Demon King off to another world. Easy.” 

They’ve moved on to the high-level banter now. 

“So you see, these two are literally the worst possible enemies you could make. And the only person who can calm them down is Lord Saint, so he’s even more dangerous to have as an enemy, got it?” 
“Eep?” 
“You follow me, right?” 

Quietly prodded by Belphgamilia, the ministers have no choice but to nod. 

I guess now they finally acknowledge me? 
Hopefully, we can resolve everything peacefully from here on out.