Demon King Daimaou: Volume 8

by Shoutarou Mizuki

  “Raaahhh!” The balls knocked her fists back, but she kept firing away. Each hit from one of them was met with ten of hers. She was hitting at an incredible rate, and the strikes were beginning to push 2V back.

  “Gah...!” And then Lily’s power overwhelmed 2V. Her mana disappeared, as countless fists struck her tiny body.

  “Dryaaah!”

  Lily’s punches smashed 2V into a wall. She moaned loudly as it shattered beneath her. “Guh...!”

  “Hah. Don’t worry, I can’t just kill you. I need to prove to the public who you really are before we can go back to the old system. I’d like nothing more than to snap your spine, but it’s still better to keep you alive. If I kill you, you’ll have gotten what you wanted.”

  Lily stretched out her arm with magic to grab 2V by the collar. 2V looked like she would’ve been happier if she was killed.

  “Stop... Please...”

  “I’m sure you noticed on some level, but humans aren’t that stupid. Once they know the truth, they’ll make the smart choice. The right choice. And I’m not going to let you die before you see that.” Lily smiled cruelly.

  And then... There was a low thud from 2V’s body. The impact traveled all the way through Lily’s hands.

  “...What?” Lily’s eyes went wide.

  2V’s body had been pierced by a spear of light. “Gwah!” She spat up blood and moaned.

  “What just happened...?”

  The shining sword had come out of nowhere. And after running her through, it vanished. The sword had been made from mana. Not many magic-users could create a sword that could fly that far, or have such power.

  Lily looked in the direction it had came from, and couldn’t believe what she saw. It was Kazuko, walking down the hall with elegant footsteps.

  “Empress Kazuko...”

  “Don’t you feel a little bad for her? Couldn’t you tell that she wanted to die? She’d been in a dark place for so long, with nobody to talk to in person. At least let her spend her last few moments in a pleasant dream.” Kazuko walked over to 2V. She was still breathing.

  “Y-You bitch...” 2V moaned, but Kazuko simply kissed her. Blood stained Kazuko’s beautiful mouth and cheeks. But her smile remained unwavering as she looked at 2V with an expression of compassion.

  “Poor girl. You wanted to be like me, didn’t you? Did your dream come true in the end? If it did, then I’ll kill you before the dream is over.”

  Kazuko slammed another mana sword into 2V at close range. 2V’s body twitched.

  “I-Is that really the best way...?” Lily asked.

  Kazuko, now completely covered in blood, smiled as she stuck a hand into the wound in 2V’s stomach. She moved it around for a moment before finding the heart and ripping it out of 2V’s body.

  “E-Empress...” Lily couldn’t believe what she saw.

  Kazuko didn’t seem to think, however, that she was doing anything unusual at all. She took the heart and held in both hands, and began to eat it elegantly.

  “Oh, it’s like a big dried plum,” she said.

  “Wh-Why...” Lily said she stepped away.

  “I’m taking her mana into my own body. I have to. She got the power that should’ve been mine: the Mirror of Yata. The power to move one’s mind into a Liradan or doll.”

  “And that’s why you’re... eating that?” Sweat dripped from Lily’s brow.

  “That’s right. And with that power, I’m going to take responsibility for what she’s done. I’m going to make Zero serve the Empire. For the first time in years, the Imperial Family will rule,” Kazuko declared.

  “Wh-What...?” Lily was stunned.

  “If both Zero and the Demon King belong to the Empire, then all magic will originate with one source. All will prosper in the name of the empress,” Kazuko said.

  Then they both heard a voice.

  “No...! I don’t understand what you just did, but I think you’re wrong!” Keena was standing there.

  “My master disagrees. He says that the future only comes from continual thought. In other words, you’re wrong.” Fujiko was there too. They’d been teleported to the palace along with Akuto.

  But Kazuko kept smiling. Instead, the bloody empress pronounced their deaths. “Then both you and the Demon King will have to die.”

  ○

  Outside the palace, confusion had reached a fever pitch. Akuto had vanished from the sky, but the people’s terror remained. They fled, either on foot, by flying, or using the now-functional flying cars. Yoshie, Junko, and Keisu were the only ones going towards the palace.

  Junko’s magically enhanced strength had returned, so now she jumped from wall to wall, carrying Yoshie. Keisu followed her. They left Yuko with Hiroshi, who had safely landed on the ground. The field blocking his energy was gone, so he’d be able to take her out of the area.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Yoshie said. She was talking about Akuto. She still didn’t know him well yet, and she didn’t seem to understand why he’d done what he did.

  “He made everyone hate him deliberately. That’s just who he is,” Junko said.

  “Why would he want to make them hate him? Does that help him somehow?”

  “That’s his way. He carries all the legacies of hatred, and still tries to help everyone. I can tell from the way he was trying to sound like a villain that he wants to make this the last battle of the Demon King,” Junko said. There was passion in her voice, and the life had returned to her eyes.

  “So he’s going to defeat Zero and rebel against the Empress? Wooaah! I knew something good was coming, but this is better than I thought!” Yoshie laughed. She looked up at Junko, who was still holding her in her arms.

  “...What?” Junko asked. Yoshie grinned.

  “You’re in love with him, aren’t you? That’s gonna make for a rough life, you know?”

  “Y-You dummy! Now isn’t the time!”

  “Right, right. Let’s both throw away our lives for a very interesting man, then.” Yoshie laughed.

  ○

  “So 2V finally kicked the bucket, huh?”

  A street far from the center of the capital — The Sage was smoking from a pipe, elbow on the roof of his stopped car, as he felt the disturbance in the mana he was tracing. He sighed.

  “The limiter the gods put on the use of magic is gone. People can now use magic without having to be good. Now, which side should I join...?” The sage got in the car while sucking on the pipe in his mouth.

  “Bochiro must’ve seen that days like these were coming. I’ll have to see if there’s anything else besides that suit and Zero’s body that he left behind, I guess...”

  The Sage — the man once known as the strongest mage, codename USD — whispered.

  Afterword

  Thanks again for buying this book. It’s me, Shoutarou Mizuki.

  Now, we’ve reached Volume 8. This is part 2 of the new storyline, so if you haven’t read it yet, please give Volume 7 a try.

  And this time I’ve got news: they’re making an anime!

  If you bought this volume new you’ll already know from the banner on the cover. It starts in April on Chiba TV and other U-stations. As you know, U-stations let you get away with anything, so you can expect quite a lot of craziness.

  It’s directed by Takashi Watanabe, and the main character designer and art director is Toshimitsu Kobayashi. Series composition and scriptwriting is done by Takao Yoshioka, with additional script writing done by Nao Hoshimasa! I’m so excited to have all these great names working on it. If I had to say what I’m looking forward to most, it’s to see how these grown-ups get to mess around and have a good time.

  I had a great time talking to everyone, and even though they’re all veterans, I could feel a passion in their voices when they spoke to me. I’m sure they’ll go way beyond your expectations, so look forward to it! I know I’m looking forward to it more than anybody.

  Of course, there’s also that drama CD from Beatnix. The voice actors there aren
’t the same as the ones in the anime, but that’s common in theater, so it’s like it’s a play! At least that’s what I want you to tell yourself, and decide who you like better. It’s a pretty addicting little game to play.

  Then there’s Souichi Itou’s comic, which is running in Champion Red. I’ve heard he’s planning on keeping it up, and I believe him. It’s been really good lately.

  Lastly, thanks... oops, out of space. Thanks for everyone who’s brought the story this far, and see you in the next volume. There’s more fun to come!

  Sign up for our mailing list at J-Novel Club to hear about new releases!

  Newsletter

  And you can read the latest chapters (like Vol. 9 of this series!) by becoming a J-Novel Club Member:

  J-Novel Club Membership

  Copyright

  Demon King Daimaou: Volume 8

  by Shoutarou Mizuki

  Translated by Adam Lensenmayer

  Edited by Aimee Zink

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2009 Shoutarou Mizuki

  Illustrations Copyright © 2009 Souichi Itou

  Cover illustration by Souichi Itou

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2009 by Hobby Japan

  This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo

  English translation © 2018 J-Novel Club LLC

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

  J-Novel Club LLC

  j-novel.club

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: November 2018