How much time had passed since we started walking through the deep forest?

  Two moons floated overhead, but their light was blocked by the thick canopy. Normally, the forest floor should have been shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

  However, my vision captured the surrounding scenery as clearly as if it were broad daylight - no, even clearer than that.

  [Night Vision], and [Presence Detection]...

  The game's passive skills are completely functioning as my five senses.

  It wasn't just my sight. The faint flow of the wind, the sound of leaves brushing together in the distance, the bodily odor of beasts mixed with the smell of the earth. All of it flowed into my brain with astonishing resolution.

  The sheer amount of information was so overwhelming I felt like my brain would burst, but I had the sensation that my robust mental fortitude as an Archdemon was automatically processing it.

  The same seemed to be true for Lily, walking beside me.

  Without getting the hem of her blood-red dress dirty in the slightest, without stepping on a single dry twig, she advanced as smoothly as a phantom. Her crimson eyes also shone brightly in this darkness, not neglecting her guard against our surroundings for a moment.

  I've figured out how to move my body. I've gotten used to the weight of the wings on my back. ...The problem is my combat capability.

  Back in the game, I - Dantalion - was a magic-specialized build. The power of the magic unleashed by a Level 150 Archdemon was literally at the level of wiping out an army single-handedly.

  But this was reality. It wasn't an effect through a monitor. If we encountered an enemy, what if I didn't know how to use magic? Or what if its power was drastically reduced?

  "Lily. We are stopping for a moment. I want to conduct a magical output test while we have the chance."

  "As you will. Leave the perimeter scouting to me."

  Lily stopped immediately, stepping one pace ahead as if to protect me, and kept watch over the surroundings. Her movements were graceful, yet entirely devoid of openings.

  I picked up a suitably sized dead branch lying at my feet and aimed it at a giant, moss-covered rock about twenty meters away.

  What I was going to test was the most elementary magic learned at Level 1 in the game, [Dark Bullet].

  Its MP consumption was bottom-tier, a spell only used for slight restraint or target practice. If applied to the physical laws of reality, it would probably just shoot out a fireball the size of a softball at best.

  I had no keyboard. Yet, my body and my instincts understood exactly how to activate it.

  From the pit of my stomach - no, from the very depths of my soul - a hot, heavy something came pulsing and welling up. I intuitively knew it was mana.

  Gathering just a tiny bit of mana at my fingertip, I glared at the target rock.

  "...[Dark Bullet]."

  The very next instant after I voiced it.

  —BZZZT!!

  What fired from my fingertip was no softball-sized fireball. It was a mass of pitch-black flame easily two meters in diameter. It launched with an eardrum-shattering roar that seemed to tear through the air itself.

  "Eh?"

  —KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

  Before I even had time to let out a dumbfounded noise, an absurdly massive explosion erupted from the point of impact. The giant rock that had been my target vanished without a trace, and several massive trees behind it - which looked to be hundreds of years old - were snapped at the base and sent flying through the air.

  The blast wave mowed down the surrounding trees, and the heatwave violently flapped my gothic coat.

  "...You've gotta be kidding me."

  After the billowing clouds of dust cleared, a scorched, giant crater and the devastating sight of the forest completely blown away in a fan shape spread out before me.

  The most elementary, Level 1 restraining magic did this. If I had fired the grand-tier magic that defeated the Seraph earlier, [Abyss Nova], right here... forget the forest, the very terrain beyond what I could see would have been wiped off the map.

  As I broke out in a cold sweat, completely appalled by my own nonsensical firepower, I heard an elegant clap, clap, clap coming from beside me.

  "A magnificent display of majesty, my Master."

  Lily was staring at the scorched earth that used to be a forest with a rapturous expression.

  "To think that with just a single word, wielding the most minuscule amount of mana, you would alter the geography of this forest to such a degree... Before my Master's overwhelming violence, even the fragile nature of this land prostrates itself."

  "Ah, no... this is, well, something of a slight warning, you see..."

  "A warning. I see!"

  Lily clapped her hands together. Her crimson eyes were dyed with fanatical glee.

  "To the foolish native inhabitants who have yet to show themselves, this is a merciful warning that says, 'This is what happens if you step foot into our territory!' By demonstrating this overwhelming difference in power, you eradicate any pointless will to rebel from the root... Ah, as expected of my Master! Ever so ruthless, it is the perfect form of domination!"

  ...Wrong! It was just a mistake in output adjustment!

  I desperately swallowed the retort that had risen to my throat. Facing my fanatical vampire subordinate with her eyes sparkling, I would rather die than say something pathetic like, "I messed up the power of my magic."

  Suppressing my twitching face behind a mask of dignity, I gave a magnanimous nod.

  "...Exactly. To make our power known, this is just about right."

  "Yes! This Lily finds herself ever more captivated by my Master's profound mind!"

  It seemed that in this world, I was a "walking natural disaster capable of blowing away the surroundings just by taking a stroll."

  Under the weight of that terrifying fact, and the dangerous Vampire smiling next to me, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach as I stepped forward into the newly cleared line of sight - deeper into the forest.

  The topography-altering, anomalous massive explosion caused by the beginner magic [Dark Bullet].

  Naturally, there was no way the aftermath of such a deafening roar and destruction could pass by while the forest maintained its silence.

  "...Grrrrrrr."

  Amidst the lingering smell of burning smoke, a low but clearly hostile growl echoed from deep within the trees.

  ...So they're here.

  Feeling my stomach clench tightly, I readied my giant staff once more.

  In a game, the first combat encounter in an unknown area is always tense. Much less when this is reality. No matter how absurd my stats were, on the inside, I was just an ordinary player. I didn't even know how my sense of pain would work.

  Rustle. The scorched bushes swayed.

  What emerged was a pack of quadrupedal beasts covered in jet-black fur.

  Their body lengths easily exceeded two meters, making them larger than tigers. Vicious fangs peeked from their jaws, and viscous saliva dripped heavily onto the ground. Yellow eyes, glowing brightly in the darkness, had clearly locked onto Lily and me as "prey."

  Monsters...! Wolf-type monsters? Their numbers... roughly twenty.

  We were completely surrounded. Coordinated movements. They were the type of magical beasts that hunted in packs.

  "...How disrespectful."

  The voice of Lily, standing next to me, took on an absolute-zero chill.

  "Even if they are mindless beasts, to block the path before my Master's greatness and, of all things, bare their filthy fangs... It is a cardinal sin worthy of ten thousand deaths."

  Crimson mana began to crackle and rise from her translucent white skin. It was proof that Lily's [Lawful Evil] switch had been completely flipped.

  "Wait, Lily. I'll handle this."

  I restrained Lily with my hand. I was thoroughly familiar with her combat prowess from our gaming days, but right now I wanted to confirm for myself "how my own body moves" and "how strong the enemies in this world are" using my own senses.

  Besides, judging from the magic output earlier, this pack should easily be blown away with just a light swing of my staff.

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  "GYYYYYRRRRRROAAARRR!!"

  An individual standing out as exceptionally massive among the pack - likely the leader - let out a roar.

  Taking that as the signal, the twenty magical beasts kicked off the ground in unison, leaping toward my throat from my blind spots in all directions.

  Here they come...!

  I braced myself, considering whether to unleash magic or physically intercept them with my staff.

  ...However.

  Huh...?

  The movements of the attacking beasts were abnormally slow.

  No, that wasn't it. The beasts weren't slow. It was my kinetic vision and my brain's information processing speed that were abnormal.

  Every single strand of fur on the beasts flying through the air, the droplets of saliva scattering from their bared fangs, and even the muscle contractions signaling how they intended to move their bodies next - I could read it all vividly and slowly, as if watching a paused video tape.

  ...They look like they're standing still. What is this, they're way too slow.

  Level 150. Archdemon. My [Agility] and [Perception] stats, which had been raised to their absolute limits within the game, had reached a supernatural realm that, when applied to the physical laws of reality, made the world appear relatively motionless.

  The magical beasts hung suspended in the air, baring their fangs in slow motion. I could see a wild joy floating on their faces, as if they were thinking, The hunt is a success.

  ...Too weak. At this rate, they're worse than tutorial slimes.

  It was an overwhelming, almost despair-inducing biological tier difference that made me feel like an idiot for tensing up and bracing myself.

  My instincts completely understood that with a single snap of my fingers, or a single sigh, I could turn them all into minced meat.

  But, before I even needed to lift a finger...

  "—There is no need to trouble my Master's hands."

  Within this slow-motion world, there was only one person. Only Lily moved smoothly at a speed equal to, or perhaps even greater than, my own.

  "To these fools, I shall administer an appropriate punishment in accordance with the Law."

  She lightly fluttered the hem of her red dress and stepped out in front of me. In her right hand, before I knew it, she held her unique weapon: a rapier with a blood-red blade.

  "Your permission, my Master. Grant me the permission to carve our absolute Discipline into the ecosystem of this forest."

  Without even a passing glance at the magical beasts suspended in mid-air, Lily performed an elegant curtsy toward me.

  Having stopped her from attacking earlier, I felt a bit awkward, but I had completely lost the motivation to seriously fire magic at such overwhelmingly weak opponents. Besides, I needed to confirm Lily's combat style in this world as well.

  "...Permission granted. But don't scatter unnecessary pieces of meat around. And leave the leader alive. We need to extract information about this forest."

  "As you will. I have firmly received my Master's merciful verdict."

  Lily smiled; a fleeting, cold, and terribly alluring smile.

  The very next instant, her figure vanished from the nocturnal forest.

  A godspeed that created the illusion of her figure vanishing.

  No, my abnormal kinetic vision definitely captured Lily's movements. However, the crimson mana she was clad in blended into the darkness of the night, making it look as though only a trail of blood was being drawn in midair.

  "—The first sin. Stepping before the presence of my noble Master without permission."

  A sweet, cold voice echoed through the silent forest.

  Immediately after, one of the magical beasts leaping through the air was silently cleaved in two. No, that's wrong. Not a single drop of blood fell to the ground.

  The crimson rapier Lily wielded accurately pierced the magical beast's vitals, and simultaneously with the cut, she magically 'absorbed' or 'coagulated' all the blood in its body.

  "My Master commanded me to 'not scatter unnecessary pieces of meat around.' Therefore, you are not even permitted to soil the surroundings with your filthy blood."

  In the space that felt like slow motion, only Lily dashed through with the grace of someone dancing a waltz at a ball.

  Every time she took a step, every time her blade flashed, the giant magical beasts perished one after another without even making a sound, crumbling to the ground with a pat-pat like dead trees.

  "The second sin. Lacking even the intelligence to comprehend my Master's merciful words."

  No, they're normal beasts, there's no way they'd understand words...

  Completely oblivious to my internal retorts, Lily's execution did not stop. It wasn't just unmatched prowess. There was an abnormal level of discipline in her movements.

  Rather than rampaging wildly in anger, it was as if a cold-hearted inquisitor was handing down verdicts in a courtroom and executing the sentences right then and there.

  "And the third sin; directing those filthy fangs at my Master, of all things. This is a cardinal sin that must be atoned for with ten thousand deaths… no, with eternal agony."

  Just a few seconds.

  The pack of nearly twenty magical beasts, save for the leader which was a size larger, had all their lives cleanly reaped. Not a single pool of blood was formed. It was a bizarrely clean slaughter, literally as if she was being environmentally friendly.

  "Ga, Gyy...?!"

  The last remaining leader-class magical beast seemed to realize the abnormality of the situation the moment it landed. Seeing that all its comrades had perished, the color of terror visibly welled up in its yellow eyes, and it let out a pathetic shriek as it backed away.

  Its wild instincts completely understood that the beautiful girl in the gothic dress before its eyes, and the pitch-black demon standing quietly behind her, were 'aberrant predators' it must absolutely never defy.

  The magical beast turned on its heel and tried to flee deep into the forest.

  "As if I would let you escape. After all, my Master commanded me to 'leave you alive'."

  Lily's left hand swung elegantly. What fired from her fingertips were several 'Blood Stakes' made of condensed mana.

  —Thwack!!

  "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGH!?"

  An agonizing, eardrum-shattering scream that seemed to tear through the night forest. The Blood Stakes accurately pierced only the joints of the fleeing magical beast's four limbs - the parts corresponding to the wrists and ankles - without a millimeter of deviation, sewing it to the hard ground.

  Its tendons severed, crucified to the earth, the magical beast had its four limbs completely sealed while still alive, writhing in a frenzy.

  "...Fufu. Rest easy. I have avoided any fatal wounds. My Master's orders are absolute. You are absolutely not permitted to die."

  Lily's smile as she peered into the magical beast's face was as beautiful as a holy mother's, and more terrifying than a demon's.

  With the magical beast's screams of agony as background music, she slowly stood up, pinched the hem of her dress slightly, and bowed to me.

  "Thank you for waiting, my Master. Just as you commanded, I have eliminated the vermin without soiling the surroundings, and secured a specimen for interrogation alive."

  "...A-ah. Good work."

  I nodded magnanimously, desperately trying to maintain my dignity while keeping my facial muscles from twitching.

  [Lawful Evil].

  She absolutely follows rules and orders. However, during the execution process, she completely lacks any mercy or ethics toward others. To think that the flavor text I casually typed in would manifest in reality in such a terrifying form.

  Commanding her to "leave them alive" might invite a crueler result for the target than ordering her to "kill." I acutely realized once again that I had to pay the utmost attention to how I handled this fanatical, beautiful subordinate.

  "Now then. Let us extract the information my Master desires from this pitiful beast. Using a Vampire's [Charm] and [Mind Control], reading the fragments of memories carved into a beast's brain is a trivial matter."

  Lily reached her smooth white hand toward the head of the crucified, giant magical beast.

  "Now then, for my Master's sake, let us open your brain and unravel your memories."

  The moment the magical beast tried to let out one last scream of terror, crimson mana rose like mist from Lily's hand, enveloping the beast's head. It was the simultaneous activation of a True Vampire's powerful mental magic: [Charm] and [Mind Control].

  Suddenly. The movements of the frantically writhing magical beast stopped, like a marionette with its strings cut.

  All emotion drained from its yellow eyes, which had been dyed in anger and fear, leaving them hollow and cloudy like glass beads. Its ego completely destroyed, it was reduced to nothing more than a "memory vault," defenselessly disclosing the information within its brain.

  "...Hmm. I see. It is merely the visual information of a lowly beast, but I have grasped the general topography of this area."

  After a few seconds of silence, Lily began her report impassively, her eyes still closed.

  "This forest we are currently in appears to be located quite far on the outskirts of these magical beasts' territory. If we walk north from here for about half a day, there seems to be a boundary line exiting the forest... an old highway paved with stone."

  A highway...! If it's paved with stone, that definitely means there are humans, or intelligent lifeforms with a similar level of civilization!

  I threw a massive fist pump in my mind. If NPC-like villages or towns from the game existed, I could gather crucial information from them, like the common sense of this world, the laws of magic, and geography.

  "Also, I see memories of... fragile, two-legged creatures clad in metal armor coming and going along that highway. I suspect they are the race known as humans. It seems the beast also recognized from afar a 'settlement surrounded by stone walls' that serves as their base."

  Lily opened her eyes at that point, a terribly sadistic smile floating on her beautiful face.

  "What shall we do, my Master? Shall we subjugate that settlement by force and claim it as our first base? Even if there are tens of thousands of humans, I can drown them all in a sea of blood in a single night and recycle them as undead soldiers."

  "Nay, hold a moment."

  I immediately, yet maintaining the utmost dignity of a cold-blooded Demon Lord on the surface, shook my head heavily.

  "I told you that acting hastily is a poor strategy. We do not yet know the power balance of this world. Furthermore, even if we were to subjugate them, determining the 'asset value' of that settlement comes first. To blindly destroy it and lose the labor force and information would be the height of inefficiency."

  "...!"

  At my words "asset value," Lily's crimson eyes once again took on a fanatical heat.

  "As always, you are terrifyingly thorough and rational...! Rather than merely trampling them with power, you intend to slip into the enemy's bosom, exploit everything of value, and then completely dominate them from the inside out...! Ahh, I am numb with fascination for your cold-blooded heart!"

  ...Whatever. No matter what kind of atrocious Demon Lord she builds me up to be in her head, as long as she stops the indiscriminate slaughter, I'm fine with it.

  I let out a deep sigh from the bottom of my heart and quietly nodded.

  "Precisely. ...That beast has outlived its usefulness."

  "Yes. It has served well for my Master's great first step. I shall grant it mercy."

  Lily elegantly snapped her fingers.

  —Snap.

  Along with that light sound, the magical beast's heart was crushed from the inside by an invisible force, and it stopped moving completely. Without spilling a single drop of blood, it was a terribly clean and cruel execution based on her [Lawful] nature.

  It was then.

  "...Hm?"

  Through the gaps in the dense forest canopy, a golden light - different from the pale moonlight of the two moons that had illuminated the surroundings until now - shone through.

  It was dawn.

  The cold night wind stopped, and the forest trees gradually regained their color as they were illuminated by the morning sun.

  The giant, pitch-black wings growing from my back gave off a dull gloss under the morning light. Lily's pale skin also shone beautifully, without burning in the morning sun.

  Come to think of it, Lily's setting is a [True Vampire]... Because she's the highest tier of vampire, she has completely overcome the weakness to sunlight, hasn't she.

  I praised my past self for giving the strongest subordinate I created a setting that prevented her from making the blunder of melting away in the morning sun.

  "It is a beautiful morning, my Master. It is as if even the sun of this world is blessing your new departure."

  The vampire girl clad in her blood-red dress looked up at me, narrowing her eyes at the morning sun.

  Unconsciously, out of habit from when I was human, I was about to do a big stretch - but remembered that I was currently an Archdemon cloaked in terrifying majesty, and halfway through, I played it off as an exaggerated gesture of sweeping my cape.

  "...Let's go, Lily. First, we head for this northern highway."

  "As you will, my King. May our Law pave the path you tread."

  Lily responded with a deep, beautiful curtsy.