In the Profen palace, in what remained of the laboratory, stood the protagonist of our story, Lloyd Belladonna.
His gentle smile was gone, replaced with grim determination.
In his arms was the painful sight of his wounded brother figure, Shouma—unconscious, his arm broken, his tanned skin covered in blood.
Shouma was stronger than Lloyd, always there for him—and Lloyd had found him in a heap in the ruins of this laboratory, badly injured at the end of the previous volume.
“Shouma…”
He knew who was responsible for this—Eve Profen, monarch of this country and goofball, always inside a rabbit costume.
But that was only a pseudonym.
Her real name was Eva.
Like Alka, she was a demon lord who had come from another world over a century ago.
At heart, she was a hedonist, bent on wrecking this world for shits and giggles—and also to prevent the others from following her back to her old home. There, she planned to rule with an immortal body and exclusive control of rune magic.
For people from this world—like our Lloyd—she was truly detestable, a veritable last boss.
Shouma had gone up against her and been easily trounced.
“He’s hurt bad—he fought for all of us!” Lloyd studied his unconscious face.
But despite his condition, Shouma’s expression looked oddly peaceful. He knew Lloyd would handle the rest. He’d passed out certain of that fact.
“……”
A bleak breeze came through the cracked walls, brushing Lloyd’s cheeks.
The only sounds came from fragments falling from the ruined ceiling.
“……………”
The old Lloyd would have put himself down. “If Shouma can’t handle it, I won’t stand a chance.”
But time and time again, he and his friends had faced peril and overcome it. (Although usually for entirely the wrong reasons.) He was no longer the kind of boy to wimp out here.
“You get some rest, Shouma,” Lloyd said gently, with love. “I don’t know much about demon lords, their world, or what fate has in store for ours…”
A keen light gleamed in his eye as he looked up.
“But I will avenge you!”
He made his vow to the silent sky, for his fallen friend.