"No, that's weird, isn't it? What are you doing...? Why did you win?"
Gwen said in a trembling voice, stepping back.
She had pulled a strained smile onto her face.
Her every gesture was clumsy, her initial composure completely shattered.
The defeat of John and Balk seemed to be an utterly unexpected turn of events for her.
It was an surprisingly abrupt reversal.
As I walked straight toward her, I declared to Gwen.
"I was stronger than them. That is all."
"That's not it. Why can you suppress my psychic pollution? You were suffering so much in the real world!"
Gwen said, a hint of irritation in her voice.
Due to her scheme, I had been subjected to psychic pollution.
Specifically, I had been struck by bouts of physical malaise severe enough to make me seem unlike an undead.
I had been forced to constantly endure it since the symptoms first appeared.
I sometimes masked it with magic, but the pain was undeniable.
However, now, I felt none of it.
On the contrary, I felt strangely well, my physical condition greatly improved.
More than that, strength was welling up from deep within my body.
I couldn't remember precisely when this state began.
I was probably too focused on the fight to notice.
Wondering at the strangeness of it, I nonetheless responded to Gwen.
"…It seems to have healed naturally."
"That’s impossible! My mental pollution was perfect! The more power you exerted, the further you should have weakened! Yet look at you, bouncing around as if nothing’s wrong!? This could only happen if you’d taken countermeasures!"
Gwen spat out the revelation, her anger palpable.
It seemed her scheme had been even more cunning than I’d imagined.
If what she revealed was true, it was a thoroughly vicious technique.
Had her plan worked as intended, I would never have defeated John and Balk.
If exerting power only led to further weakening, I could never fight at full strength.
But neither could I hold back and expect to win.
Yet, I had won—decisively, almost flawlessly.
The reason was simple: no weakening had occurred at all, and I had been able to unleash the Demon King’s full power.
Her claim was wildly off the mark.
(Her interference must have failed.)
The specifics were unclear, but it was fortunate for me.
Unraveling the truth could wait.
My confrontation with Gwen took priority.
"Truly… if possible, I would have preferred to defeat you easily…"
Gwen began to gnash her teeth in frustration, and half of her body abruptly lost its solidity, morphing into shadowy tentacles.
The tentacles shot toward me at high speed.
Reading their trajectory, I deflected them with my magic sword, sending them careening away.
The tentacles sprang upward, lashing like whips, and descended at speeds beyond sound.
I flashed my mana blade once more.
This time, I cleaved off the tips of the tentacles.
"Hey! Why are you counterattacking like it's the most natural thing in the world? These are tentacles that are supposedly immune to physical attacks, you know?"
"Complaining about it doesn't help me."
As I retorted, I unleashed a bolt of black lightning.
Gwen blocked with the tentacle sections.
The surface of the tentacle charred, but it healed almost instantly.
The severed tips were also regenerating, their cut surfaces bulging as new flesh grew.
"You're completely ignoring my abilities, which is fairly insane... Even accounting for you being the Demon King, this is ridiculous. I searched my memories and couldn't find a matching ability, so this is getting a bit tiresome."
Gwen moved the tentacles into a defensive stance as she spoke.
She had dropped the flippant attitude.
Wearing a bitter expression, she watched my every move.
After a moment, Gwen sighed as if utterly fed up.
"That look on your face... You really have no idea, do you? Very well. I'll check you over myself, thoroughly."
Gwen fixed me with a concentrated stare, her brow furrowed.
Surprise flickered across her face, followed by a sardonic smile.
The question that had been puzzling her since earlier seemed to be resolved.
Relaxing her stance, Gwen scratched her head with an indescribable expression.
"Um, Harvelt."
"What is it?"
"You don't seem to be aware of it... but you've received power from the world's will, haven't you?"