By Zephyria 
“…….”
My body won’t move.
My eyes are open, but the ordinary room is strangely flashing with a hazy red light, which is different from usual. And the strange, perfume-like scent wafting around my nose.
This isn’t a normal situation.
It’s similar to sleep paralysis, but a little different.
…A Demon race’s space using dreams, huh.
I should be panicking and surprised, but this isn’t the first time this has happened, so Ketron wasn’t flustered.
No, it’s beyond not being the first time; it’s happened often.
Binding someone with dreams, especially nightmares or sleep paralysis, is the Demon race’s specialty. Ketron, who had lived for years antagonizing and fighting the Demon race, and finally even defeating the Demon King, found this tactic so boring that it made him yawn.
Sure enough, before long, a Demon race with a pale face suddenly poked its head out from the ceiling.
The Demon race landed softly near the window of Ketron’s room, then slowly walked over and stood near Ketron.
“Long time no see, Hero.”
“…….”
“Or should I say, abandoned Hero now?”
It sneered, but Ketron didn’t change his expression, only sizing up the opponent.
Not a nightmare…
Not a succubus or incubus, famous for melting into people’s dreams, forcing them to feel desires, and sucking their energy. Just an ordinary Demon race who came to find him using something similar to a dream, as per the Demon race’s specialty.
Actually, calling it an ordinary Demon race was a big exaggeration. The opponent was a high-ranking Noble among the Demon race, a strategist who had assisted the Demon King from close by.
His name was, probably, Lilzhir.
But even with a Noble-class Demon race visiting him in a situation where his body was trapped in a dream and couldn’t move, Ketron wasn’t very afraid.
In the first place, the opponent wasn’t that threatening, and he didn’t feel any particular murderous intent. The opponent wasn’t even the real body. Probably just a clone.
He was the one who had defeated even their King, the Demon King. There was no reason to be afraid of some lackey who had lost their King. He could break free from his bound body right away if he wanted to.
But instead, Ketron quietly opened his mouth.
“Why did you stay quiet until now and then come looking for me?”
“We? We weren’t quiet. You were the one who wasn’t interested.”
Ketron and Lilzhir talked normally, as if they were old acquaintances meeting after a long time. The atmosphere was quite dry, but it was possible because neither Ketron nor Lilzhir were very hostile.
“Your King was quite troubled because of us.”
He seemed to recall the voices of the guests chattering. It seemed the Imperial Family had been troubled recently because of the remnants of the Demon race.
“Ah, are you not interested anymore?”
“…….”
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t be. If I were abandoned like a hunting dog after you’re done with it, I wouldn’t want to help again, let alone even look at them.”
Lilzhir said with a grin, but even though it seemed like he was taking Ketron’s side, it was ultimately a criticism of Ketron for helping those humans.
“How does it feel, being abandoned by the humans you saved?”
Ketron didn’t respond to that, and closed and opened his eyes.
Do all the Demon race have their memories? No, maybe only the executives remember. Those who weren’t in the Demon King’s Castle at that time would have lost their memories. Like Augustine, who was outside the castle blocking the army alone… Then what about the guys who were left in the castle at that time?
“Are you enjoying your life being loved here?”
Ketron, who had been lost in complicated thoughts, glanced at Lilzhir, who had now changed direction and was teasing him with a languid voice.
Being loved, huh. There was no way he couldn’t know what the subject was.
“You shouldn’t do unnecessary things.”
“Hoo.”
“If you want to preserve even the remaining forces.”
His eyes, which said he wouldn’t stand still if they touched what was his, were calm, but Lilzhir knew.
This guy doesn’t say empty words.
People called that man Hero and revered him, but Lilzhir, who stood on the opposite side, knew.
He was a Hero because he was born in this generation, but if this guy had gone even a little bit wrong, he would have become a human butcher.
Lilzhir chuckled. Anyway, as the guy warned, he had no intention of touching the people here, especially the human who was stuck to him and wouldn’t let go.
Not even touching them, but rather…
Lilzhir looked down at Ketron with an amused face, without saying a word.
This guy really doesn’t know anything. Well, it would be strange if he did.
“Get lost now.”
When Lilzhir just kept looking down at him without saying anything, Ketron, as if he was getting bored, revealed his annoyance without hiding it.
Lilzhir, noticing the ominous gaze, grinned.
“That look is still the same. A look that acts like everything in the world is beneath you. Even if you’re abandoned and forgotten by the world, that nature doesn’t go anywhere.”
“Should I reverse summon you, or will you retreat on your own?”
Ketron didn’t respond to the sarcastic words and asked. It was practically asking him to choose between homicide or suicide, and Lilzhir let out a hollow laugh.
“Really… still the same.”
He shook his hand as if he had no intention of being reverse summoned.
“Of course, I refuse to be reverse summoned. It hurts a lot, you know? …And it seems like my role is over after stalling for this much time.”
Ketron’s eyebrows twitched at the strange words. Stalling for time?
Come to think of it, he was wondering why he had come all the way here to say such pointless things. For some reason, Ketron’s heart started beating fast with an ominous feeling.
Ketron immediately cut off the unknown power that was binding his body and jumped up, tackling Lilzhir.
Bang!
Lilzhir’s body was instantly slammed into the wall. Even though it was quite sturdy, the wall, which was just a normal inn building, crumpled like paper.
“Keuk!”
Ketron’s hand gripped Lilzhir’s shoulder tightly.
Crack.
He had only given it strength, but the strong Demon race’s body lost its shape and crumpled in his hand as if it were soft cheese.
Lilzhir’s arm became tattered as if it would fall off in an instant. It was an astonishingly strong force to have been done with pure grip strength.
Crackle, crunch.
Ketron didn’t hold back and destroyed the Demon race’s body.
Blood didn’t burst out. That was because the current Lilzhir was close to being a clone.
“What’s your scheme?”
Lilzhir, who had read the anxiety boiling up in him, as befitting a Demon race sensitive to human emotions, grinned.
“It means I was just bait to distract you, you stupid Hero.”
At those words, Ketron didn’t hesitate any longer. He reached out and blew Lilzhir’s head off in one go.
With a thud, Lilzhir’s clone crumbled into dust and scattered. If it weren’t for the deep gouge in the wall, you wouldn’t even know what had happened in this place. Just like when it appeared, it disappeared in an instant.
And at the same time, the strange, perfume-like scent that could be felt in the Demon race’s space disappeared in an instant, and Ketron returned to his real room. The space had been broken as Lilzhir was reverse summoned.
「Ketron!」
At that time, the Holy Sword called out to Ketron.
It seemed like it had been calling out all along, but because Lilzhir had been talking to him in the dream and holding Ketron’s attention, he hadn’t been able to hear the Holy Sword’s voice.
As if it really was to stall for time.
Ketron turned to the Holy Sword, and the Holy Sword’s blade was shining pure white because it had sensed the presence of a Demon race nearby.
As if telling him to destroy that Demon race right away.
But, Lilzhir was just reverse summoned, right?
「Next door!」
Thinking that, Ketron checked for any presence in the next room at the Holy Sword’s words. And the moment he heard Eddie’s heartbeat, which was pounding like crazy as if he was trembling in a very frightening situation, he jumped up from his spot and ran to the next room.
***
“Eddie.”
Eddie, who was sleeping very deeply without even dreaming, suddenly heard a voice calling him.
Who is it? It’s a voice I’ve never heard before.
But even though it was a voice he had never heard before, it was somehow very sticky and gloomy. It was a strange voice that seemed to be boiling up from the depths of the underground.
“Lovely thing.”
“Won’t you come here?”
The voice continued to entice Eddie. Eddie was too sleepy, but for some reason, he didn’t want to respond to the voice because he felt uncomfortable.
But when Eddie didn’t budge even when the voice was coaxing him gently, it quickly revealed its sinister intentions.
“I said come here right now?”
The moment that unknown, incomprehensible force pulled Eddie into its arms, Eddie had no choice but to open his eyes wide with a shiver running down his spine.
And he saw it.
A hand that had emerged from a space that was torn apart, black as pitch in the darkness, even darker than the darkness of dawn.
A beautiful hand with pale white skin slowly approached and grabbed Eddie’s cheek.
Cold.
Eddie couldn’t help but think that. It was so bizarre, such an absurd phenomenon, that it didn’t feel very real, but he felt a little more awake because of the coldness touching his cheek.
What is this?
“I’ve finally met you.”
He could feel an unknown sense of favor in that voice.
But, even so, Eddie couldn’t move. The tone was friendly, and the hand that was grabbing his cheek was gentle.
But he could never like it.
Eddie seemed to know who the owner of this pale hand was. Appearing by tearing through space like this was a scene that had appeared several times in <The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well>.
The existence that always appeared in such scenes was only one.
But the opponent couldn’t be that existence. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.
Because, that opponent was already…
Already gone.
But even so, as far as Eddie knew, there was only one being in this world who could do this.
Eddie, who swallowed hard, slowly opened his mouth.
“Demon King…?”
At those words, a hand as soft as caressing something very lovely fell on Eddie’s cheek.
As if he was praising him for being clever.