I manipulated the indoor undead, sending them swarming toward Henry.
In response, Henry hurled a long table aside to clear his path.
He intended to force an approach.
Dodging the undead converging from both sides, he advanced toward me with feral movements.
*(This is insane. But I anticipated this motion)*
I compressed magical power in my palm, solidified it, and released it.
A primitive shockwave without any spell formula.
I fired it straight through the undead and into Henry.
"Ugh...!?"
Henry, hit by the shockwave, braced himself to endure.
He dug the fingers of one hand into the floor to avoid being blown away.
Unlike wind blades or similar attacks, this was a wide-area assault this time.
Since evasion was impossible, he had no choice but to defend.
"Tch, pulling some damn annoying tricks..."
Cursing under his breath, Henry was nearly unscathed.
That shockwave alone was far from enough to inflict a fatal wound on him.
Not that it mattered.
I never entertained the slightest notion that this shockwave alone could finish him.
Seeing Henry attempt to move again, I unleashed another shockwave.
Once more, he defended.
Indeed, no significant damage seems to be inflicted.
I follow up by firing a third shockwave in rapid succession.
Henry could endure no more and sank to one knee.
Even he flinches under the successive impact waves.
I show no sign of halting my assault, and release yet another shockwave.
Pressing the attack relentlessly, I fire one after another.
Not only Henry, but his surroundings are caught in the crossfire.
My subordinate undead are blasted apart, tumbling through the air.
The long desks set up spin through the air and smash against the walls.
Sometime during the barrage, Luciana’s figure had vanished.
She must have retreated to a safe location.
"Ha... what a ridiculous bastard, honestly."
Grousing, Henry endured on one knee.
Gritting his teeth, he inched closer to me with agonizing slowness.
Though the shockwaves repeatedly knocked him back, he was never blown away.
Refusing to be lifted from the ground, he steadily closed the distance.
The tenacity was immense.
He was aggressively showcasing his voracious hunger for victory.
I must acknowledge that strength.
I likely could not have defeated him when I was alive.
But I am a true monster now.
The demon king of a new age that surpasses all.
Even a human who might be called a hero, there is an unbridgeable gap between us.
I increased the amount of magic poured into the shockwave tenfold.
I compressed it even further than before, then released it toward the sluggish Henry.
"Ugh…"
The explosive recoil shattered both my arms.
The momentum carried through, vaporizing my hands from the wrists down.
I perceived a numbness so profound even a skeletal frame could feel it.
The shockwave I unleashed reached Henry in an instant.
He staggered as if thrown, thrusting his fingers into the floor to steady himself.
But the shockwave ripped the floor apart and blew him away mercilessly.
Henry flew backward and slammed into the wall.
Cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of impact.
Embedded in the wall, Henry groaned.
"Whoa, seriously?"
"Unfortunately, it's true."
I fired another shockwave of equal power at him.
This time, the recoil caused my arms to explode from the elbows down.
Henry sank further into the wall.
Increased output to fire an additional shot.
My arm from the shoulder onward blew away without a trace.
The shockwave released alongside the deafening roar finally brought down the cafeteria wall.
Henry, of course, was caught in the blast.
(I lost an arm, but it doesn't matter)
I activated a small barrier spell, connecting it to my shoulder and shaping it into a cylinder.
Using it as a barrel, I took aim and released a shockwave.
The barrier magic shattered and vanished.
I immediately recreated the barrier in the same shape and fired again.
While repeating the destruction and regeneration of the cannon-shaped barrier, I unleashed a continuous barrage of shockwaves.
The shockwaves pierced the cafeteria wall and began destroying the space beyond.
Henry's position was detected through magic.
According to that, he was immobile and had been pushed back magnificently.
Every single shockwave had struck him dead-on.
Remarkably, despite taking such direct hits, Henry was not dead.
An inhuman durability.
That said, this was no indication of hope for him.
In this state, Henry turning the tide to counterattack would be impossible.
He needed to close the distance to utilize melee attacks, and anything thrown would be shot down by the shockwaves.
My advantage was virtually unshakable.
Afterward, I continued to batter the space with unilateral shockwaves.
Since I knew the opponent wouldn't die easily, I pressed the attack without much hesitation.
With each discharge, the interior of the prison crumbled, linear holes piercing through the walls.
Finally, the last section gave way, connecting the space to the outdoors.
Having lost both arms, I shifted via visual translocation to the threshold between inside and outside.
I swept my gaze, searching for his figure after he had burst out.
Henry was lying on the lawn.
Debris was piled upon his body.
He pushed the rubble aside with a sluggish motion and calmly stood himself upright.
Brushing the dust from his entire body, Henry staggered.
He caught himself just before falling.
At that moment, a thin trickle of blood ran down from his forehead.
"..."
Henry wiped it with a finger, staring intently at it.
After a moment, he let out a laugh.
His expression was genuinely joyful.
He looked as if he wanted to say the bleeding pleased him.
He almost seemed to be rejoicing over a rarely occurring event.
(...I truly cannot understand him.)
Ignoring Henry's eccentric behavior, I opened my jaw.
What leaped out was a silver snake.
A magical creature carrying nerve-paralyzing venom.
The snake glided smoothly across the ground, trying to lunge at Henry's foot.
"Whoa, that was close."
Henry dodged it and crushed the snake underfoot.
Coughing up blood, the snake's form wavered and transformed into a chain of the same color, wrapping itself around Henry's leg.
In an instant, it immobilized one of his legs.
"Hey, you've got to be kidding me?"
While Henry stared in shock, I sent magic and miasma into the ground.
The earth cracked open, and countless withered tree roots burst forth, attacking Henry.
He managed to shatter some with his fists, but not before he was gradually bound.
Finally, he was pinned face-down, unable to move.
"Multiple forbidden spells in succession. Surely you can't escape this now."
"Haha, isn't this going a bit far? That's a harsh joke."
As Henry gave a bitter laugh, I approached him.
While we were talking, he had been tearing at the roots with his fingertips, but twice as many more sprouted from the ground.
Needless to say, he could not free himself from the restraints.
What was left was a futile struggle that could no longer even be called resistance.
The fact that he could destroy advanced magic like forbidden spells with his bare hands was something I would overlook for now.
(This should finish it.)
I looked down at the immobilized Henry to assess the situation.
If the effects on the surroundings were ignored, this was possible.
Henry is a warrior of a thousand.
But after all, he is only a human who cannot use magic.
Overwhelming physical ability and excellent battle instincts can be dealt with by unleashing spells that cannot be handled by those.
However, this is a method that is theoretically possible but practically impossible.
First, it is difficult to unleash successive attacks that Henry cannot handle.
Most spells are easily avoided or destroyed by melee attacks.
Even if you succeed in stopping him, if you give him the slightest opening, he will avoid it and launch a painful counterattack.
It is a method that only works with someone like me, who possesses an outrageous magical power and the skill to cast forbidden spells without chanting.
I generated a semi-transparent spear with magical power and placed its sharp tip against Henry’s neck.
I then questioned him.
"The bet is my victory, right?"
"...Of course. I can't beat this. I surrender."
Henry relaxed and smiled bitterly.
The fighting spirit he had moments ago had vanished, and he looked strangely refreshed.
He seems to have a personality that switches quickly.
I released the forbidden spell that was restraining him.
Freed, Henry hopped up and stood with a light jump.
He still appeared to have energy to spare.
His surrender came rather early, perhaps, but he must have had something in mind. It was a bit curious, though asking would have been tasteless. There was also the possibility it was mere whimsy. Tired of fighting, he may have simply wanted to give up. Regardless of the reasoning behind his conclusion, my victory was undeniable.
Dismissing the mana spear, I addressed Henry anew.
"Henry Blarkin. Henceforth, you are my subordinate. No objections, I trust?"
"Yeah, sure thing! I'm counting on you, Chief," he replied in a friendly tone.
As he did so, he unexpectedly slapped me on the back. It was enough to make my bones creak—I wondered if he'd noticed. Still reeling from the immediate aftermath of battle, he had, of course, failed to gauge his strength properly.
"To tell the truth, I'm honored to join the Demon Lord's army. I'd just gotten bored of prison life and was planning to break out before the year's end. The timing worked out perfectly."
While effectively fracturing my spine, Henry spoke with remarkable ease. From his words, he seemed as capricious as the rumors suggested. I was almost impressed they had managed to contain such a man for ten years.
"Frankly, I have no real ambitions. I only said 'seize the throne from the Demon Lord' to spur you into action. I have no qualms about serving under someone, and I consider this the best outcome for me."
"So you simply wanted to fight me, the one you'd motivated?"
"I didn't expect you to get that furious, but honestly, I had no intention of betraying or usurping anyone. I'm just a battle maniac. Just send me to the front lines with confidence," Henry declared without a hint of remorse.
It wasn't an excuse, but rather, he truly seemed to have acted on such thoughts.
He had completely snapped.
Well, I, who became a demon king against humanity, had no right to criticize.
He was simply acting according to his own values.
"...I see."
Suppressing the tumult of emotions within me, I only offered agreement.