Chapter 74

The leader of the masochists, the tavern owner, saw her. His face showed sheer agony. “No way… I can’t believe those beautiful elf ears would be violated by a demon…” “Now that you know, you should stop obsessing over—” “It hurts so bad I feel like my chest is going to burst… And it feels so gooooood!” “Gross!” Clarissa kicked the tavern owner hard enough to shatter his heart, which had just realized it enjoyed emotional torture as much as physical torment. Her friends both thought that she herself wasn’t really in a position to judge him, but they decided not to say anything. Elazonia’s jaw dropped when she learned that the elven masochistic heroes had been killed and resurrected hundreds of times, burning through her magic reserves. Shinichi laughed so hard it made his sides hurt. “Heh-heh-heh! Ah-ha-ha! It’s so satisfying to see your immortal punching bags sweep your feet out from under you!” It had been too annoying for her to resurrect each hero by hand, especially when their deaths were unpredictable. That was why she used the magic conductors to automate the process. The Red Dragon had showed them in the planet’s memories. Shinichi had asked Clarissa to kill the masochistic heroes as he broke into Elazonia’s underground laboratory to distract her. The strategy worked perfectly. “There’s no way I’d just stand around chatting for no reason, right?” He’d known there wasn’t even a one in a million chance that Rino’s little speech would work, but he let her do it anyway, and his call for surrender was to waste more time. “Bastard…!” “Don’t get it twisted. Rino didn’t lie about wanting to be friends. And I didn’t lie when I said you should atone.” His face turned serious as Elazonia gritted her teeth. The Goddess’s knowledge of magicology was excellent. If she had been willing to reform and use that to help people, he had every intention of setting aside his personal grudge. But that would be a miracle—with less of a chance than an asteroid collision. As he’d expected, it didn’t happen. “I knew you would refuse our offers!” said Shinichi in a telepathic message, because it would be hard for Rino if she were to hear. Elazonia grimaced. “Your every move is despicable…!” “Says the one who deceived people, took Rino hostage, turned down a peace offering, then tried to kill every human on the continent in a nuclear explosion. I don’t really want to say it, but you might be the world’s greatest villain,” said Shinichi with a smile and a shrug like he was upset that she hadn’t accepted their offer. He might have set it up with his outcome in mind, but it was definitely Elazonia who chose the path of destruction. “Anyway, now I don’t have to feel bad about beating the crap out of you!” “Shinichi…” warned Arian with a crooked smile. “As dirty as always,” finished Celes, looking annoyed, editing that out of the livestream. Elazonia’s shoulders were shaking in rage. She exploded the last of her magical power. “Burn in divine light and perish! Holy Torrent!” A flood of rays shot toward Shinichi, engulfing the lab, but the Demon King and Regina suspected she might try something and cast a defense spell in tandem. ““Fortress!”” Two magical walls joined into a hinge that sliced apart the deluge of light, skewing its trajectory to the side. The walls crumbled. Dust fluttered through the air. Shinichi rushed toward Elazonia. “Your Highness!” “It was all you.” “We’ll hand it over to you.” Both the Demon King and Regina understood what he meant, casting another spell. ““Procure our enemy’s freedom, Photon Bind.”” Chains of light wrapped around Elazonia’s ghostly figure, leaving her incapacitated. “Argh!” She had let her anger get the best of her and used up the last of her magic on Holy Torrent, making her flicker out like a candle in the wind. She had no power left to shake off the chains. “Arian!” called Shinichi. “Got it!” She understood his intentions as well and dashed up to run alongside him. It’s not that he was being sly and trying to take the glory for himself. He knew that even though they’d revealed her true identity, there were those who would continue to worship her. He knew it would be best for a human to strike the finishing blow to keep her followers from hating the demons even more. That was one reason. The bigger reason was simpler: He wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t pay her back himself for all the pain she’d put him through. “This is the end for you!” Arian laid her right hand on top of Shinichi’s left hand as the two raised the dragon sword. Elazonia couldn’t move as they sliced down with an earsplitting cry. ““Hi-yaaaaaah!”” That strike split her ghostly body in two. “Bye, Evil God Elazonia.” Shinichi’s final words marked the end of the ghost known as the Goddess of Light. “You dirty—!”