The Demon King whose body was covered in blood, sneered with his half beaten face. For your information, the one who beat half of his face was none other than my right hand. How unfortunate. If only my holy sword had not broken, it wouldn't have only been his face that was beaten, but his neck would have been cut off too.
"For a mere human, you're quite impressive."
"For a kid that had been completely beaten by this mere human, seems like you're still pretty stubborn, huh?"
"S-Shut up!"
Some parts of the Demon King's face reddened, and his mouth let out a strangled sound. If you guys are wondering why I only mentioned 'some parts', that is because more than half of his face is covered in bruises so I couldn't tell which parts were blushing and which parts were festering.
"Anyways, you have already been captured by me."
"That's right, but…"
I shrugged my shoulders.
"So what?"
The Demon King's battered face became more painfully wrinkled.
In summary, the situation is now like this.
I, the leader of the Holy Knights, and the dude, the Demon King, fought to the death until victory was within my grasp. But, I couldn't release the last blow because my damn holy sword suddenly broke and the Demon King seized that opportunity to grow some vines and tightly tie up my legs.
I'm indeed unable to move, however the restriction is limited only to my legs. As long as that damn Demon King comes closer, I can strangle and break his neck. I also still have a shield and the holy armor to ward off attacks from afar. Besides, I also have powerful holy magic, so the Demon King's attacks would only feel ticklish. The problem is, I would be able to cut off the vines with just one slash if only I had a sword; unfortunately the vines are too strong to break with bare hands.
In other words, we are at a stalemate; both of us could only helplessly stare at each other. Both of us have no idea how to attack. Should I throw the shield?
"Hey! You!"
"My name–"
"I forgot. Your name is too hard to spell. Anyway, don't just drag the time out. You decide it! Do you want to run away or come to me to face your death?"
If the Demon King ran away, the vines that tied me up would be disconnected from magic and disperse, allowing me to go home. It would indeed be a pity not to be able to bring back the Demon King's head, but at least I achieved my main mission to lift the Crown Prince's curse. Oh, right! Holy sword… The High Priest will definitely scold me. But the holy sword got weak after it destroyed the curse… it's not my fault.
The Demon King bit his lips and you could tell from his expression that he had made a big decision. Hmm, i have a bad feeling.
"If I use this spell, in the next hundred years, my mana–"
"Uhh, I think you don't have to be that extreme."
"Don't always interrupt me! As a man and even a Holy Knight where are your manners?!"
"Are you kidding me?! Why would you bother about your enemy's manners when your neck is going to be chopped off?!"
Moreover, I have never been a man. Well, I have been misunderstood from time to time, but hold on! I want to clear this misunderstanding directly! But before I could do it, he started to chant his spell seriously. His expression grew increasingly serious, prompting me to listen to him just for this once. Regardless, I can't stop him in my current situation. If I have no other choice, I could just throw my shield.
"Dear Sword Goddess. This King feels despair pierce through one's bones."
Does he really have to speak that way? Doesn't he feel goosebumps from hearing his own words?
"Even though this King admits defeat, however this King can't bear to let you g–"
"The point! Can't you just say the point!"
"Heh!"
"What?"
I nonchalantly answered him while picking at my ears using my pinkie finger. I'm not watching an ancient theater performance, so what is his purpose in speaking like that? The Demon King gasped for breath then cleared his throat a couple times.
"The main point is, I can't let you go safely."
"What did you say? You won't let me go, but you want to run away?"
"I-I'm not. I won't run away."
"If you don't run away, do you want both of us to continue to look at each other and count the passing time like this?"
"Ughh, just see! I will make you regret soon!"
Should I throw the shield now? When I strongly gripped my shield with both hands, that damn Demon King quickly realized what I was going to do and swiftly dodged behind the ruins.
Tch. The Demon King that peered through the roof, continued his chatter.
"I know that I can't damage your body, but it's different with your soul."
"What…?"
Soul? That bastard…! I twisted the shield threateningly and the Demon King quickly pulled his head in.
"What are you planning to do with my soul?"
"Naturally I can hardly hurt you because you have been blessed by the High Priest and you have got strong holy power, but–"
"Can't you speak while showing your head?!"
"I know you want to throw that!"
"Of course I want to throw it, damn you!"
Huh, that damn head and body would have been detached if only the holy sword hadn't broken. What did he mean by mentioning my soul? As he said, I have been blessed by the High Priest; thus, not only is my body immune to curses, but so is my soul. Furthermore, my holy power is really powerful. However, while my body has been through lots of training and become strong, and protected by armor, I can't do the same with my soul. You can't wear the armor on your soul, right?
"So, what's your plan?"
He answered my question from the same position, looking like a tortoise hiding its head in its shell.
"You know that I'm a Demon King so I've got some humans as sacrifices."
"Wha…, bastard! As of now there is no slavery anymore, but you still managed to get some humans as sacrifices? That was an old tradition!"
"Within one of them, there was a weak girl."
"Did you just ignore what I was saying?"
"This King will pull her soul and insert it into the blade of the goddess which is none other than you, you damn ma—!"
BOOM!
The shield that got thrown by my hands, tore down the remaining ruins with thunderous sounds. Tch, apparently it's still lacking. A pile of stones that used to be a part of the roof, collapsed to the ground and scattered some pale dust smoke. In the middle, it could be seen that the Demon King was shocked and crawling while trembling. With his increasingly pale face, he shouted.
"YOU FOOLISH HUMAN!"
"You are the idiot who wants to mess with a normal human soul, and yet you call me foolish?"
"Anyways, I will switch your soul with a weak girl's soul! No matter how powerful the holy knight's soul is, if you weren't in a healthy male body, it will be impossible to use even half of the holy magic while being trapped in a weak girl's body!"
"What did you say? Damn you! I am–!"
"I will sacrifice myself for the peace of the demon world!"
He's a Demon King but he kept chattering as if he was a warrior that died for his country. That damn Demon King quickly chanted the spell and I let out a scream before being completely wrapped by terrifying light.
"Bastard! I have always been a woman!!!"