"You cannot be the only man who has ever managed to kill me… Gaias the Mage…?"

  "I'm not Gaias… In the same sense the current you not being Zadokilgias."

  Gaias was the name of my previous life.

  I am now Mathias Hildesheimr, not Gaias.

  In a similar sense, the demon in front of me may have inherited Zadokilgias's soul and memories, however it's a different demon in the strictest sense.

  This demon probably has its own name… But it doesn't really matter either way.

  Zadokilgias will die here regardless.

  Utterly and completely for sure this time.

  "My defeat comes from your hands yet again… I considered myself triumphant in term of techniques back then… But I have no excuses this time."

  Most of Zadokilgias's body has crumbled down into sands.

  Zadokilgias turned to face me with a vexed look on its face.

  My current mana is less than 30% of Zadokilgias's.

  Physical strength wise, I'm far below demons.

  Yet I won, thanks to the gap in our skills and support from my comrades.

  In our previous fight, I was magically stronger than Zadokilgias but less in term of skills.

  The situation is reversed this time. I'm weaker than Zadokilgias in magical prowess, but my skills exceed the demon.

  For a demon who prides itself on its skills, it must have been a disgrace.

  "…I'll come out victorious next time."

  Zadokilgias disappeared into sands, leaving those words behind.

  Only a pair of horns that grew out of its heads remained.

  However, I know that there will never be [next time].

  There is simply no way to reincarnate oneself once their soul has completely fallen apart.

  …That's just how it is with souls.

  ◇


  "Now then… How to proceed from here."

  A while later.

  All of us have gathered, surveying the area where we fought Zadokilgias.

  "I broke so many things… Will it be okay?"

  Iris, back in her human form, asked me.

  "It's fine. The town might be seriously damaged… But this is the least egregious method. If you hadn't fought, Iris, the entire town would have perished."

  What I said is true.

  This town would have been lost for sure if we didn't kill Zadokilgias.

  With Zadokilgias, the buildings themselves would probably be intact… but not the people.

  After all, towns targeted by Zadokilgias in the past had tragic outcomes.

  That demon was more efficient than your average demon… For example, after killing its suppression party, it would likely go on to spread poisonous gas where the refugees took shelter at, killing them.

  People in the past wouldn't have regarded Zadokiligias as a risk if it was the kind of demon who would only attack back its suppression parties.

  Demons are creatures that relish in killing humans no matter the means.

  There were structural damages in the aftermath of this fight… and zero casualties.

  It's undoubtedly all thanks to Iris.

  "That said… Putting these back together would be daunting."

  Since Iris had to physically launch her attacks inside the town, the collateral damage was extensive.

  At any rate, we probably have to rely on the kingdom's support to help with this town's restoration.

  I guess I should first report what happened to the king and then ask him to send goods and manpower here.

  I sensed mana reaction of a lone man coming here from afar while I was thinking.

  "Someone's coming."

  …It's probably not a commoner.

  No commoner would come back to this town right after the dragon vanished post a battle with a demon.

  I observed the mana reaction while slightly upping my wariness.

  Then… The man showed up from a street corner.

  "It looks like… Someone from the Knights."

  "Ah, I've seen that person somewhere before, I think!"

  Ruli and Alma said that when they saw the man.

  Looks like it's a knight.

  However… I've never seen his uniform and unit badge before.

  Knights wear slightly different uniforms and badges depending on the unit they belong to.

  Like say, you could tell which unit a knight belongs to by whether or not they're wearing a full plate armor, and their badge.

  But Alma is right, the man's face looks familiar.

  I can't recall his name, but he's probably someone affiliated with the royal capital's knights.