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Volume 8 Chapter 217

The Ogre, the Demon Lord and the Duplication Magic

One day, suddenly, it appeared before me.
It was a monster in the form of a human.

──＊＊＊──
I occasionally come to the human world to prepare for the day I become the Demon Lord.
On that day, I was negotiating with the leader of the ogre tribe, who I wanted to appoint as a leader in the Demon Lord’s army.
「 —-So, as part of our military strength, you are willing to provide ten ogres from this tribe to join the Demon Lord’s army?」
「Yes. Although we cannot provide a large number, they are all individuals with strong bodies. They will surely be of service to you, Citri-sama」
「Ten will be sufficient. I saw one of them earlier, and they were quite well-trained. They will undoubtedly serve the Evil God admirably」
「You flatter me」
「By the way, Chief」
「Yes. What can I do for you?」
「You…… you are stronger, aren’t you? How about becoming a leader in the Demon Lord’s army?」
「Hahaha. Citri-sama, you jest. What could an old timer like me possibly do? Please pardon me and allow a young member of our tribe to serve instead」
「Hmmm. Are you saying you’re not worthy of being a leader……?」
「N-no! Nothing of the sort—」
「I see. If that is your wish, then I shall strive to create a Demon Lord’s army that would make you reconsider. After all, I have plenty of time」
At that time, I thought I would have at lleast a hundred years as the Demon Lord.
「When I have assembled the strongest Demon Lord’s army in history, I will prepare a high-ranking seat for you. Please do not refuse my invitation when the time comes. Is that fine?」
I looked him straight in the eyes.
It seemed that the chief understood I was being serious.
「……Understood. If you insist so strongly, then please allow me a seat among the Demon Lord’s army. However, the condition is to create the strongest Demon Lord’s army in history—- right?」
「 —-!! Right!」
At that moment, I was elated.
The prospect of recruiting the legendary ogre who had fought and drove off three heroes in the past as the leader in the Demon Lord’s army seemed feasible.
「Then let me introduce you to the ten young warriors who will be under your command, Citri-sama」
「Thank you」
As we left the ogre chief’s residence—-
It appeared before us.
「Oh! Found a strong-looking ogre!! Looks cool and just right for the boss of the 18th floor!」
It was something in the form of a human.
A massive concentration of magical power.
It moved like a human and spoke with a bright voice, like that of a child who had found a rare toy and was excitedly about to play with it.
「H-hey! What are you? Who are you?」
「Citri-sama, please step back. This fellow… …is strong」
The ogre chief stepped forward as if to shield me.
The aura emanating from him was completely different from before when we were negotiating.
The legendary ogre was genuinely on guard.
It seemed that what stood before us was something utterly extraordinary.
「You, how did you get here? There were ogre sentries」
「I beat them all」
「 —-Wha!?」
「……I see」
I couldn’t believe it.
I hadn’t sensed any signs of combat.
However, when I searched the surrounding magical energy, there wasn’t a single moving ogre.
By all, it meant not only the ogre sentries but also every one of the hundred or so ogres in this village.
The chief seemed to notice it too.
「Citri-sama, please run」
「Eh?」
The chief whispered to me, never taking his eyes off the creature.
「His presence alone slaughtered all of us ogres without a single sign of combat. Do you understand what that means?」
The chief’s voice was deadly serious.
「I likely won’t be able to defeat him either. However, I will buy you some time to escape. You understand?」
At the same time as he said that, the chief jumped on the human-shaped figure.
With each stride the ground caved in, indicating the force of the chief’s charging speed.
And yet—-
「Oh, no!　If there is someone this strong, I should have brought a proper weapon」
The fugure blocked the chief’s attack with a two-meter-long, black, staff without any effort.
「Citri-sama, while you still can!」
I was brought back to my senses by the chief’s words.
But as I tried to return to the demon realm—-
「T-the teleportation gate—-」
「Citri-sama, quickly!」
The chief, who was violently fighting with a humanoid mass of magical energy, hurried me in a voice that clearly showed his impatience.
But I couldn’t return to the demon realm.
「The g-gate won’t open!」
「 — What!?」
The teleportation gate to return to the demon realm didn’t open, no matter how many times I tried.
「It’s no good. I can’t let you escape」
「「 —-!?」」
Another monster appeared.
It wasn’t the one fighting the chief, but a different entity.
I didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed that this one had been obstructing my teleportation.
「Damnit!」
「Whoa!?」
The chief enlarged his right hand and struck the humanoid creature fighting him, sending it flying away, then picked me up and fled from the scene.
The humanoid in front of me didn’t seem interested in combat, as it was taken aback by the chief’s sudden action and moved sluggishly, allowing us to escape.
The ogre chief ran through the forest while carrying me in his arms.
「Citri-sama, please fly away from here! They are likely obstructing teleportation to the demon realm with an incredibly high-density magic. Once you get away from them, you should be able to use teleportation to the demon realm」
「O-Okay. I understand!」
The chief threw me into the air.
「Chief, come to the demon realm too!」
「I’ll stay here and hold them off. I’ll buy you some time to escape—-!? Citri-sama! Behind you!!」
「EH」
When I turned around at the chief’s voice—-
「I can’t let you fly away」
A daemon stood there.
No, a daemon was me.
But the term daemon suited it perfectly.
It sliced off my wings with its bare hand.
「Citri-sama!」
The chief caught me as I fell.
「That was close. It’s not marked for teleportation, if it escapes to the demon realm, we won’t be able to track it. Not after we’ve found such valuable specimens」
「I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that attack」
「I didn’t know ogres can make their hands so big」
「Ogres can enlarge not only their hands but their entire bodies」
The number of monsters was now three.
The one that was fighting the chief, the one that interfered with my gate, and the one that cut my wings off.
「Not only can their hands, they can enlarge their whole body」
「Yeah, they can. Some can even become like giants」
「……」
Despair walked out from the depths of the forest.
Two more monsters appeared.
In total, five monsters surrounded the chief and me.
Maybe if I unleash my power as the Demon Lord, I can defeat two of them.
But… …five is impossible.
「Why do we have such a difference in knowledge levels?」
「Who knows? We’re made for combat, so it was not an important part」
「Hmmm, so we’re not perfect copies of each other」
「Having some individualism might allow us to adapt to various situations better—or so the original said」
「「「Huh, interesting」」」
The five monsters began conversing while surrounding the chief and me.
It felt like their attention was drifting away from us.
I thought I could defeat one of the monsters now and escape, but—-
「Not yet」
The chief stopped me when I tried to unleash my power.
Indeed.
I was rushing.
These humanoid creatures still didn’t know my true power.
The chance to escape will surely come.
──This was a misjudgment.
In fact, this was truly our last chance.
「These two, there’s no way we can tame them, right?」
「Yeah, they’re too strong」
「Especially the lady」
「I thought she was an ogre princess, but she’s even stronger」
「Demonkin class?」
「No, isn’t she a demon?」
「Anyway, let’s call the original」
「「「Alright!」」」