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A mysterious man suddenly appeared. He looked like a pleasant young man, completely the opposite of Toriyama. One could even call this person a social butterfly. He had stabbed Ichinari with a large sword and pulled it out, yet for some reason, Ichinari didn’t seem to be dead. I even tried using Appraisal, but to no avail.

It seemed my uneasy feeling was right. This man standing in front of me wasn’t normal. I didn’t even know what to call him. He seemed like trouble. Lullus also told me that he was carrying the Spirit of Water with him. He probably found it and brought it along after causing that scene in Caeruleus.

Well, in any case, it would be better to start with a conversation.

“I’m Finis. I’m 0 years old. I don’t quite remember, but I should soon be turning one. My occupation is a Demigod. It’s nice to meet you, hero-hater Demon Lord. Or should I call you Zygos?”
“Call me whatever you want. I’m just a poor prisoner. Even now, I’m overwhelmed with the urge to kill people from this world. I wasn’t always like this, though.”
“I was also revived by God just to run errands, so I guess we’re kind of in the same boat. Though I’m not as tightly bound as you are.”

So, this was Zygos. The hero turned Demon Lord. The original personality hadn’t died, but becoming the Demon Lord had distorted it. It was a lot like how my soul was altered when I became a Demigod.

I guess I was getting the better end of the deal, though.

After the greeting phase, I dropped the formal tone, and he widened his eyes in surprise. It looked like I had taken control of the conversation—not that I had.

“By the way, would you be willing to hand over that spirit you have with you? In exchange, I—or rather, God—will grant you one wish. Though there are some things he can’t grant.”

Zygos looked at me with an incredibly complicated expression. It didn’t seem like he thought it was suspicious. It felt more like… a deep, indescribable discomfort toward God himself.

“It’s a tempting offer, honestly. But the Demon Lord part of me isn’t reacting too well to it.”
“Figures… But as a former Hero, don’t you have any desire to return to your original world?”
“Is that possible?”
“What do you say, God? Is it possible?”

Since I couldn’t answer that myself, I asked God directly. He then quickly replied in my head, “It is.” So I relayed that, “Apparently, it’s doable.” Zygos thought for a moment, then sent a glowing blue sphere toward me.

“Then once everything is over, would you be able to return me to my old world with all memories of this one erased?”
“God?”
“Hmm… That sounds like a bit of a pain.”
“But it sounds like it’s possible, no? And we’re getting a spirit back in exchange.”
“Fine. Would you like me to fulfill this regardless of what happens?”
“Yes. Please make sure to follow through no matter what.”
“Apparently, it can be done.”
“So it’s settled. I’ll return the spirit, and in exchange, that promise will be kept?”
“That’s right. It will be kept even if you decide to kill me the moment you hand over the spirit.”
“Now that’s good to hear.”

Zygos flashed a refreshingly cheerful smile. I had a really bad feeling about this… I wished he would just go away already. Anyway, I sent the spirit off, and that wrapped up my final job. Then, holding on to a sliver of hope, I made one last suggestion to Zygos.

“Would you consider just walking away?”
“No can do. Otherwise, there’d be no point in coming all this way. There’s someone here who’s deeply steeped in this world’s essence. Plus, I’ve got a target to eliminate.”

As he said that, Zygos glanced toward Princess Topersion and her attendant.

(So that’s how it is… It’s obvious the princess is one of his targets, but I guess I fall within that scope too…)

I didn’t know what criteria Zygos was using, but if he was targeting humans infused with this world’s power, then I qualified. After all, I was a Demigod of this world.

Which meant, perhaps, he had come all this way because I was here. Since Zygos was now fully part of this world, he probably had an excellent detection ability.

“I wanted to get here sooner, but destroying the country that summoned me—thoroughly—took quite a while.”
“From the world’s perspective, the summoning only accelerated the collapse. And from a hero’s perspective, everyone here is just basically kidnappers.”
“Both as a Demon Lord and as a former Hero, I had every reason to wipe them out thoroughly. Even from my perspective, that summoning was practically an execution.”

Summoning someone into a collapsing world really was close to an execution.
Unlucky Zygos…

“By the way, you said you’re a Demigod. Does that mean your stats are insanely high?”
“I’ve also got quite a few skills.”
“Well then, this will be quick. Could you go ahead and let me defeat you? I doubt you’ll die, just like that guy over there.”

He glanced over at Ichinari. He was stabbed pretty hard, but he didn’t look like he was dying.

“That’s not something I can agree to. In fact, I’d rather you leave.”
“Like I said, it’s not happening.”

Yeah, I figured. I knew that. Well, now I was in trouble. It was just a guess, but… I didn’t think I could beat Zygos. Maybe I wouldn’t lose either, but to win, it’d be like trying to shave down a lump of iron using a pebble; endless patience would be required.

First, it was worth testing if my hunch was correct. But I was pretty sure it was. I had used a god’s brain to think it through, after all. If I were wrong, that would be an even bigger problem.