It's Not a Shotgun

I was able to get a far from Erstania in about an hour, partly because I ran with Noir-san on my back.

Erstania will not be damaged if it is this far away.

I set Noir-san down in the dusty wilderness.

I slowed down as much as I could, but Noir-san's hair was ruffled from the wind.

「When will the Demon King appear?」

「It's getting closer, it won't take more than an hour. When the Demon King shows up, Noir-san, you should stay away.」

In other words, Noir-san is a decoy to lure the Demon King.

Now that I've proposed the plan, I have to make sure it gets back to Erstania intact.

「Do you think you can tell he's a Demon King by his appearance?」

「I guess I'll know when I see it.」

Kühl-san said, "It's a big bird in flames".

I don't think there are many such demon out there, and you can tell at a glance.

「The question is, how do I beat it?」

Like the turtle, this birds are said to be highly defensive, but there is a definite difference.

The previous Demon King had a high defense, but he could be touched.

However, it seems that the Demon King is incredibly hot this time.

I won't know how hot it is until I actually fight it...... but if Kühl-san is right, my fist will burn before it reaches the Demon King.

In other words, the Demon King of this time is far stronger than the Demon King of last time.

「Your lung capacity is amazing.」

Sure, I might be able to put out the flames by blowing on them.

If I threw a fist, I might be able to pierce the Demon King with wind pressure.

However, if you take the easy way out, you will not be able to grow spiritually.

「Listen to me, Noir-san.」

「I'm listening.」

「This time, the Demon King is the perfect opponent for me to grow mentally. That's why I want to fight the Demon King with just my fist.」

Hitting the world's hottest is equivalent to suicide.

If I confront it head on, I might burn.

That's why it's worth trying.

By overcoming my fear that I might burn, my mental strength will grow by leaps and bounds......

By doing so, magical spots will appear!

「I'll support your dream.」

「Thank you, Noir-san. I'm going to grow spiritually in this fight! And I'll be in class tomorrow as a wizard!」

I waited for the Demon King to arrive, my fighting spirit burning.

After an hour of looking up at the sky, a large bird covered in flames appeared.

The bird closed in on us and landed about 10 meters in front of us.

「This soul vibration...... I was wondering if it was that little girl after all! Hoo hoo ho! How lucky I am! I didn't expect to be able to kill you the day the seal was broken!」

As I suspected, the Demon King's target seemed to be Noir-san.

Perhaps the hot air is blowing every time the Demon King speaks, Noir-san is sweating profusely and sneezing, probably from inhaling the dust.

「I'll take care of the rest. Noir-san, you should stay away.」

「I hope you don't get burned......」

(T/N: Raw: くちゅんっ。……貴方が燃えないように祈るわ. What does "くちゅんっ" mean? the same as "ぎゅっと"?)

Noir-san yells at me and rushes away.

「Hoo hoo ho! You can't escape! I've spent the last 2,000 years of my life thinking only of burning you!」

The Demon King spreads his wings and tries to chase after Noir-san.

I spread my arms to block the way.

「If you want to get through here, you're gonna have to take me down first.」

「Hohoo! You're such a brave little human. You're the second idiot I've met today! Well, ignorance is a scary thing, isn't it?」

「I know who you are. You're the world's hottest Demon King, the 《Southern Emperor》, right?」

「Hoo hoo ho. You're a foolish mortal to stand up to me knowing what I am! Well, then, how in the world are you going to defeat me? I'm curious. Will it be water? Will it be wind? No matter what you do, it's useless!」

「This is my weapon!」

I clenched my fists tightly.

「Your coming to me? With your fists? Hoo hoo ho! This is the most fun I've ever had! I've burned a lot of human in my life, but I've never seen a daredevil like you!!」

The Demon King spread his wings.

The dust blows and I'm thrill.

This is it! This is the kind of enemy I've been looking for!

Instead of letting the demons fight like the 《Emperor of Darkness》,

Instead of arming himself to make himself look strong like the 《Emperor of Earth》,

Instead of mimicking the opponent's strength, like the 《Emperor of Light》,

Not as plain as 《Emperor of Wind》,

Not a bluff like the 《Rainbow Emperor》,

I don't think it will self-destruct like the 《Northern Emperor》.

This time, the Demon King, the 《Southern Emperor》 is truly a formidable opponent!

As Kühl-san said, the 《Southern Emperor》 is clearly different from the previous Demon King!

That's why I'm thrilled!

(T/N: He sound like a battle maniac now)

「You will understand in your dying moments, you conceited human! There are some things in this world that should never be touched! You and I are on different levels of strength! If you still want to face me, I will burn you to the ground without a trace!」

「Try it! I'll get back at you!!!!」

Donn!!!!!!

The moment I sneezed, the Demon King was blown away.

The flames were extinguished, and there were numerous small holes all over his body.

Blood flowed from there, quickly forming a pool of blood.

The Demon King was completely dead.

「If my eyes are right, he died because of a sneeze.」

Noir-san came running up to me and started saying that.

「It, it can't be...... This is because this is different from the Demon Kings of the past....... When he flapped his wings, I felt a thrill around my back...... There was something that...... came up from the inside.」

「That's a prelude to sneezing.」

「I see...... that thrilling feeling was sneezing......」

I've been dismissed by Noir-san.

Well, actually, I can't think of any other cause of death than sneezing.

I don't want to admit it...... but the wind pressure from the sneeze would have extinguished the flames, and the countless spits released would have pierced the Demon King's body.

From now on, when I sneeze, I have to guard with my hands.

With that determination, I headed back to the school with Noir-san.