The barrier arrayed around the
Directly in front of it, the Imperial Army openly sets up formation without even bothering to hide.
And then, at a distance from the Imperial Army, the Demon King's army quietly builds its own formation.
Furthermore, on the opposite side of the Elf Village from the Imperial Army, the Taratect swarm led by Queen Taratect clusters together.
And furthermore still, on the opposite side from the Demon King's army, I, the Demon King, and a handful of subordinates wait in isolation.
In terms of numbers, we're the smallest group here, but in terms of fighting strength, we're the strongest.
So in terms of positioning, clockwise around the Elf Village — Imperial Army, Demon King's Army, Taratect swarm, then me and the Demon King. A complete encirclement.
The plan goes like this.
First, I casually pop the barrier I've got stretched around the Elf Village.
Then I fudge it to make it look like the Imperial Army destroyed it with their new great magic.
Should work as a smokescreen, at least.
Then the Imperial Army led by Natsume-kun advances.
Natsume-kun's been racking up plenty of hate, so all the elves should come flooding in that direction.
At the very least, they should head toward Yamada-kun's group.
Actually, if they don't, we'll have a problem.
We absolutely cannot let the Demon King and Yamada-kun cross paths.
Kuro, I'm counting on you, okay?
Make sure you guide them properly, alright?
Well, while the elves' attention is drawn to the Imperial Army like that, the Demon King's army begins its advance.
They'll attack the elves from the flank.
The Demon King's army is under the command of Mera and the Oni kid, plus there's the vampire girl, so there shouldn't be any issues.
If push comes to shove, Fermi-chan's there too, so it'll work out somehow.
Even if the elves' fighting strength turns out to be greater than we anticipated, they should be able to hold out long enough for everyone to retreat safely.
Honestly, with just the vampire girl and the Oni kid, we can handle just about anything.
So anyway, while the elves are being pressed from both the Imperial Army and the Demon King's army and forced into a two-front war, we'll add the Taratect swarm as a little gift.
The Queen's there too, you know!
The Queen alone is already overwhelming, but on top of that there are 14 Archs.
51 Greaters.
And a whole bunch more.
Wouldn't these guys alone be enough, honestly?
The elves would just die.
A hellish picture of screams and carnage is what I'd expect, but we'll use that chaos as cover for me and the Demon King to sneak into the Elf Village's interior.
We'll secure the reincarnated students and assassinate
If we can just kill Potimas's true body, this war is as good as won.
All of the clones outside the Elf Village have already been dealt with.
The last one was probably the one the vampire girl took out back in the kingdom.
Even if any stragglers slipped through, they wouldn't be able to do something like transfer their true body into a clone the way I can.
Potimas keeps his true body as his true body — he only remotely controls his clones.
So once the true body is killed, the clones become meaningless.
The Imperial Army, the Demon King's Army, even the Taratect swarm — they're all bait.
The Imperial Army, which gets to be the bait first, will probably suffer significant casualties, but they were assembled from the start with the intention of being disposable.
As long as they draw the elves in, that's all that matters.
Then, while the Demon King's army and the Taratect swarm tear into them, in that opening, the main event — me and the Demon King — makes its move.
Honestly, the two of us alone have greater fighting strength than all the other armies combined.
And that Demon King and I were currently glaring at each other.
"No matter what White says, this is one thing I can't budge on."
"I don't care — I'm not backing down."
A crackling tension enveloped the surroundings.
The Puppet Taratect accompanying the Demon King couldn't withstand the tension and was trembling violently in fear.
Neither the Demon King nor I would yield our positions, and the staring contest continued.
What were we arguing about? Which of us gets to deal the final blow to Potimas.
I want to pummel Potimas myself, partly because of what happened with sensei.
Plus, since Potimas's true strength is unknowable, it'd be safer for me to handle him, given that I'm stronger than the Demon King.
The Demon King understands all that, and yet still insists on fighting Potimas himself.
Well, the Demon King has every reason to. He's been pushed around by Potimas for ages.
Those feelings run much deeper than anything I could have.
But the opponent is Potimas Hariphenas.
A man who single-handedly waged shadow wars against the entire world, year after year.
Taking into account the cyborg body the vampire girl defeated, and the robots in the underground ruins of the old world that triggered my godhood, I estimate that Potimas's fighting strength could rival even the Demon King's.
If something were to happen to the Demon King over something this trivial, I'd much rather play it safe.
But even after hearing my reasoning, the Demon King absolutely refuses to back down.
And that alone would be tolerable.
I do want to tear Potimas apart with my own hands, but the Demon King feels the same — if not more strongly.
I'd be willing to compromise.
If I could at least help.
"At least let me assist you."
"Declined. This is my battle. No one may intervene. ...Or something like that."
There it is.
The Demon King insists on settling this alone and won't budge.
He won't accept my help, nor the help of any subordinates.
He wants to put an end to this long-standing grudge one-on-one.
"I know I'm being selfish. But this is the one thing I can't give up. Potimas — I have to finish him with my own hands. Because he's my..."
The Demon King's eyes, burning with resolve.
Being stared at directly like that, I almost feel like I'm the one in the wrong.
"You might die, you know."
"Of course I know. My lifespan wasn't that long to begin with. Even if I die here, I have no regrets. And if I die, then I trust that White will take care of Potimas in my place."
Even as he's making that face like he'll drag Potimas down with him even in death, he sure can say that with a straight face.
Ah, man.
I've got nothing.
I let out a massive sigh.
If he's going to go that far, there's no way I can push him down.
The Demon King is wagering his entire life — everything he's lived for — to challenge Potimas.
Wagering his pride.
How could I possibly deny that?
He knew full well that I'd be unable to back down if he said it like that, which honestly makes it unfair.
"I won't forgive you."
"Huh?"
"If you die, I won't forgive you. The moment the Demon King dies, I'm abandoning this world and taking off. To make sure you don't drive me into doing something that irresponsible, you'd better survive no matter what. Got it?"
"...Understood, Boss."
I couldn't bear to look at the Demon King's teary smile as he saluted me, so I turned away.