“Refle—”

>ZVUUUUUUUSSSHHHHHH!!!<

Before Maria’s Spell could be concluded, a looping warp appeared between her and the incoming blast.

>VWUUUMMM<

Instantly, the ray was swallowed by the spacial rupture—down to its last spark—leaving behind the devastated path it traversed.

Lubick was surprised by the event, glaring at the spatial hole that manifested, and then at the girl behind it.

‘What is this? She can use Space Magic? At that age?!’

Lubick remembered that there was a human around her age who had brought them into this mess.

He thought he was the only one, but who would have thought there were other exceptional kids who could pose problems?

‘If that’s the case, why was she shaking? Was she trying to let me get my guard down?’

As Lubick hardened his glare at the young girl, he noticed something about her.

‘She’s surprised too?’

He hadn’t noticed earlier because of how doll-like her face was—hardly depicting emotion.

However, the widening of her eyes and the slight parting of her lips told the expert Demon Lord that she was indeed shocked by the portal.

‘She didn’t do it? Then, who di—’

“Apologies for my lateness.” A voice appeared, and out of the blue, a man appeared out of thin air.

He was garbed in a luxurious mage apparel, had an ancient staff in his hand, with an open Grimoire floating before him.

Several gem-like crystals were on his body—either as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, or even eyebrow rings.

He had a few orbs floating around him too.

The human appeared beside the human girl, causing the latter to raise her head slightly to lock eyes with him.

“C-Court Mage!” Maria managed to blurt out in her flustered tone.

That’s right! It was none other than Elrich Lendertwale, the Court Mage of the Eastern Kingdom, who appeared in the nick of time.

“I saw this scene and decided to intervene. I certainly hope I wasn’t too late.” He gave a youthful smile.

Even though he was using Magic to maintain his youthful self, the man was a genuine old fogey underneath.

Of course, he could have fooled anyone with his current appearance.

“Tch. Another unnecessary bug…” Lubick gave an exasperated groan.

This caused both humans to grant their gaze upon the Demon Lord before them.

“So, both of you want to team up against me, or what? This is getting annoying.”

For a moment, there was silence in the air. Not one person moved or spoke. The two sides simply stared at the other.

“I think you’re mistaken here,” Elrich spoke, exuding confidence.

He glanced at the human girl, and she nodded too.

‘So she understands…’ The Grand Mage smiled internally.

“I saw your fight and thought to intervene. In as much as she is extremely skilled, she is still an interning Imperial Mage. You are a Demon Lord. It’s not a fair matchup, don’t you think?” Elrich once again glanced at Maria, noticing her expression had not changed.

Even with that, the Royal Court Mage could not shake off a weird feeling permeating his insides.

“I-in any case, I’ll be the one fighting you. Don’t worry, Maria… I’ve got this one.” He gave a thumbs up at the girl while still keeping his gaze locked on Lubick.

For a brief moment, there was no response from his ally, Maria. One would think she was deaf, dumb… maybe both.

However, just as the two parties looked in her direction for an answer, she nodded slightly and began taking her leave.

Both her hands were pressed tightly to make a fist as she stiffly went away. Still, as she went, a whisper escaped her lips.

“… Shameless old man…”

With that, the girl flew away, leaving the two extremely powerful ones to duke it out.

“What was all that about?”

“I know right? She’s a bit weird…”

Both enemies returned their glares once they realized that they had unconsciously entered a cordial conversation.

Once again, artificial hate returned to their eyes as they prepared to do battle.

“I’ll be done with you soon. Once it’s over, I’ll simply destroy that Golem and turn this whole thing in our favor.” The Demon Lord sneered.

For a moment, Elrich Lendertwale was dumbstruck by the statement. It wasn’t because he was afraid of such a thing occurring.

Rather, it was the opposite.

“You really think you can turn this around? It’s too late, you know? You’ve already lost.”

“Shut it. What do you know? You think our ruler is like you? He certainly has a plan for this as well. All I have to do is perform my role well and everything will fall into place.”

Anyone with common sense would be able to see that Lubick was no longer functioning on pure logic, but rather, blind loyalty.

Elrich somewhat pitied the blue Demon Lord, but an iota of admiration was evident as well.

‘I wish I believed so much in the crown as much as this guy does…’

Elrich had been around even before the current King took his crown, so he had a fair knowledge of how things worked in the Kingdom.

It wasn’t because the King was absolute that he chose to remain loyal as the Royal Court Mage. Rather, it was to steer the crown on the right path.

That was his entire purpose in the Palace.

As long as he was present, Elrich was certain that the people in authority wouldn’t make an unwise decision.

The voice of reason—that was his role beside the King.

“You won’t be winning this fight, talkless of the war,” Elrich spoke, getting himself prepared for the fight.

“Oh? You are cocky, aren’t you?” The Demon Lord responded, doing the same.

“I’ve heard of you, Royal Court Mage. They say you’re an expert in Magic Technology, and you mostly utilize items in your battles. You’re also one of the three most skilled in Magic in your Kingdom.”

“Oh, stop it.” Elrich smiled at the words being rained on him.

“In those regards, we can be said to be the same.” Lubick smiled devilishly, activating his own Magic Items.

“Oh?”

The Royal Court Mage was slightly cautious, but mostly excited. It was an ideal match for him, after all.

“Now, then, let us see which of us is superior!”