The Abandoned Saint I Picked Up is a Side Character in an Otome Game and Turns Out to Be the World's Strongest Mage. I Plan to Rescue the Heroine Who Couldn't Achieve Her Happy Ending in a Dungeon. - Chapter 22

Black magic surged from Roland’s body.

It was unmistakable—the same sinister magic wielded by the Demon King, the final boss of Under the Shining Starry Sky.

Why was the Demon King’s magic emanating from Roland?

As I stood frozen in confusion, Roland stared at the dark magic coursing through him, his expression shifting to one of self-satisfaction.

“Th-this power! So this is it! The gods have chosen me to be victorious!”

The crowd, meanwhile, recoiled in horror.

The malevolence of the black magic surrounding Roland was obvious to everyone.

“Prepare yourself, mage! I will vanquish you—”

I cut off my thoughts and shifted my focus.

This wasn’t just an under leveled love interest anymore. I was now up against a formidable foe who could only be defeated with holy magic.

Without hesitation, I activated my full arsenal.

“—Full weapon deployment.”

I transmuted every weapon in my arsenal.

Massive cannons—dozens of them—that wouldn’t look out of place on a battleship, all aimed at Roland, who was still cloaked in black magic.

“Wait, w-what—”

“Commencing bombardment.”

“—!!!!!”

At point-blank range, I unleashed a relentless barrage.

The rain of cannon fire obliterated Roland, leaving not even a trace of his body behind.

But as I had anticipated…

“C-curse you, coward!”

He wasn’t dead.

Or, more accurately, the black magic coursing through him wouldn’t let him die.

The Demon King could only be defeated by holy magic.

But holy magic was something Ariel could only awaken by evolving her light magic—a process triggered by a specific event where a love interest she cared about was in mortal peril.

The problem was, Ariel had no emotional attachment to any of the love interests. If anything, she actively disliked them.

If I pretended to be in danger, would that somehow trigger her awakening?

…Probably not.

I wasn’t exactly a great actor, and Ariel would probably just say, “What are you doing? Hurry up and finish this already. You can handle it, can’t you?”

But holy magic was the only way to defeat the Demon King.

“Wait, let’s just pause for a mo—”

For now, all I could do was keep reducing Roland to smithereens over and over.

This wasn’t exactly a sustainable solution.

As I grappled with how to deal with Roland, who was now cloaked in the Demon King’s magic, a voice suddenly echoed from within him.

“You wretched fool! Reducing the same person to shreds repeatedly—have you no heart?!”

“…That voice…”

The black magic surrounding Roland began to take form.

From the dark haze emerged a figure: a woman with snow-white hair and bl00d-red eyes—a breathtakingly beautiful yet menacing figure.

Her outfit was highly revealing, showcasing her ample curves.

Her chest was larger than Ariel’s, her height easily surpassed two meters, and her voluptuous thighs, slender waist, and full hips made her the epitome of beauty.

“The Demon King, Aldilia…”

“…Oh? So you know who I am.”

Of course I knew her.

She was the final boss of the story, defeated by Ariel near the end to achieve the happy ending.

But even knowing who she was, there was still something I didn’t understand.

“How did you manage to come back to life?”

“Kukuku. It’s true, I was meant to revive when a wielder of holy magic appeared and amplified the power of darkness. That was the plan.”

Yes, that was exactly how Aldilia, the Demon King, was supposed to return.

But here’s the thing—Ariel, the one destined to wield holy magic, hadn’t even advanced past light magic yet.

The amplification of dark power Aldilia mentioned shouldn’t have been possible.

As confusion set in, it didn’t take long for the reason to reveal itself.

“Truthfully, even I am uncertain of the exact events. But the accursed spirit that sealed me suddenly vanished.”

“…The spirit’s… power…?”

“Yes, it happened several years ago. Suddenly and without warning, the spirit disappeared, and I was revived!”

A chill ran down my spine.

I knew exactly who had killed the spirit in the lowest level of the dungeon and built a house there.

That person was me.

Most likely, I was the reason Demon King Aldilia had been resurrected.

…What do I even do now?

“However, upon my revival, my power was still insufficient. Even the fox in the middle levels could have defeated me. Thus, I bided my time, gathering strength while waiting for a suitable vessel!”

“And that vessel was the crown prince, huh?”

All my questions had been answered.

The problem now was that I had no way of reversing this situation.

I could keep bombarding the Demon King to immobilize them, but…

Without access to holy magic, which was the only way to deal a decisive blow, I couldn’t truly defeat them.

Or could I?

“Holy magic is a higher-tier form of light magic… If I modify light magic… mutter mutter…”

“Kukuku, what’s this? Have you finally realized the futility of resisting me? You possess great power, mage. If you pledge your loyalty to me and assist in my conquest of the world, I might just spare your life—”

“Ah, this might work. —Holy Arcane: Light Saber.”

I transmuted glowing swords into both hands.

The sight made Aldilia’s crimson eyes widen in shock.

“Y-you! That’s…! How can someone who isn’t a saint wield holy magic?!”

“It’s not holy magic—it’s holy arcane magic. Sometimes, you just have to try something to see if it works.”

“C-curse you! I’ve only just returned after a thousand years—I won’t be defeated so easily!”

The next moment, the black magic surrounding Roland separated from him and tried to flee.

I wasn’t about to let that happen.

If I allowed the Demon King to escape now, there was no telling what might happen later.

I quickly transmuted a steel cage around the dark energy, sealing it off entirely.

Trapped, Aldilia panicked and began to plead.

“W-wait! Let’s talk about this! I’ve only just been revived—I don’t want to be sealed again!”

“You were just talking about conquering the world. I’m not the type to let a problem like you linger around.”

I readied my Light Saber to strike Aldilia down. But just as I was about to finish the job—

THUMP!

A powerful pulse, as though my heart was about to explode, surged through my chest.

This was bad.

Luckily, the steel cage I had created to trap Aldilia also blocked the audience’s view.

But the only way to deal with this sudden surge of overwhelming… desire was to act on it—by taking the woman before me.

“Hah… hah… damn it…”

“Hm? What’s this? You look like you’re in pain! Could it be that my true power is awakening within you? Hahaha! You frightened me earlier, but now you’re at my mercy! Prepare yourself for—wha?”

Aldilia’s gaze shifted downward—to my crotch.

The other glowing “saber” was clearly pointing directly at her.

No.

This was the Demon King, a being of evil intent seeking to conquer the world. This was wrong.

“Y-you… that’s…”

“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

I charged forward and defeated the Demon King with my Light Saber.