At that moment, my mind went completely blank.
Dazed, I chewed over the truth that had been revealed.
"The will of the world, to me..."
"Well, that's a shocker. Even I'm surprised by this."
Gwen said with a hint of sympathy.
She continued, her tone exasperated.
"From what I can tell, this has been active since you entered the spirit world. It seems you've become able to ignore the target's abilities. Congratulations!"
Gwen applauded with exaggerated flair.
However, it was clear her blessing was not heartfelt.
With an air of carelessness, she began to grumble.
"I knew something was off from the start. No matter how I fiddled with it, the contractual magic wouldn't break. As it is, I was planning to remove it while those two were fighting. It's not like I didn't hear that it was unbreakable."
Gwen continued her eloquent tirade of complaints.
She seemed to harbor considerable resentment at the failure of her own scheme.
I understood that feeling.
I, too, had been plagued by unforeseen circumstances time and again.
Whether as the Sage or as the Demon Lord, it was much the same.
Though our positions differed, I felt as if I were constantly facing only difficulties.
"The will of the world—we call it by another name, but this power is a nuisance regardless. For us, who seek to conquer the stars, it is perhaps the greatest natural enemy. By its very nature, it will always stand in our way."
"You know the true identity of the will of the world," I asked with conviction.
I, who became the Demon King, have long been subject to interference from the will of the world.
I am apparently a natural enemy to the beasts of the outer world, but the same can be said of me.
The will of the world tries to do away with me through unreasonable phenomena.
Gwen lets out a deep sigh, then answers me with a distant look in her eyes.
"We've tried all sorts of things to slip past it. Well, this time we got thoroughly beaten, I suppose."
Muttering, Gwen shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head.
A hint of resignation peeks through.
She tilts her head slightly and poses a question to me.
"Harvelt, you've probably had your suspicions about this too, haven't you? About the will of the world. You've been thinking about it for a long time after all."
"..."
"If we focus on who actually benefits from the will of the world's interference, the answer should become apparent on its own."
Gwen looks into my eyes as she speaks.
Her words were not something I could simply ignore.
Who benefits from this—it is painfully obvious without even needing to think about it.
But beyond that, I chose not to dwell on it any further.
The answer I had arrived at, I tucked away at the corner of my mind.
Even knowing it was likely the correct one, I made sure not to let it sink in too deeply.
Gwen's aim may well be to confuse me.
There was also the danger of being led toward the wrong answer.
With that cunning woman, there was no telling what she might pull.
But it must be taken as reference only, not as absolute truth.
The situation is probably not yet conclusive.
"In your case, Sir Harvelt, it seems you were influenced from when you were still human. As the Sage who opposed the Demon Lord, you were backed by the will of the world."
"I know."
I am one of the humans who defeated the Demon Lord.
Becoming a Sage was not solely due to my own effort.
After various encounters and experiences, I grew into a hero.
It is likely that, to a certain extent, the will of the world acted upon those.
To destroy the Demon Lord of that time, it intervened in my destiny and that of another.
"Since becoming the next Demon Lord, I've been nothing but hindered, but this time, by pitting us against beasts from the other world, they've won us back to their side. My, my, we're being played for fools."
Gwen laughed as if thoroughly amused.
After laughing her fill, her expression became blank.
"Well, let's end the idle chatter here. My conversation with you is enjoyable, Sir Harvelt, but I have much to do from now on. It's time to part ways."
"Did you think I'd let you go without a word?"
I pointed my magic sword at her.
The forbidden spell was ready to be invoked at any time.
Gwen placed her hand on her hip, considering.
After a moment, she interlaced the fingers of both hands before her chest.
"Mmm... If I ask nicely, will you let me go?"
She looked up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Of course I do not lower my sword.
I continue emitting a resolute killing intent.
Then Gwen dramatically slumps her shoulders.
She sighs with a somewhat dispirited air.
"I knew you would say that. I already knew."
The outline of the lamenting Gwen begins to distort.
Her three-dimensional form vanishes, transforming at the edges into countless tentacles.
Her body rapidly swells and expands, growing to a height that requires looking up.
What then appeared before me was a mountain of tentacles enthroned upon the sand.
"Before we fight the defense mechanisms, shall we do some warm-ups here...?"
A voice descends from above.
On the surface of the tentacles, a mouth remains that barely retains a human shape.
An eyeball appears beside it, swiveling with a wet, squirming motion to stare at me.
"Now, Gwen is getting serious—so please prepare yourself, because I will snap you like insects, okay?"
Gwen, now a monster of tentacles, descended upon me like an avalanche.