Before I could execute what I had planned from the beginning, it turned out that the analytical-type mage was doing something.
"This might not help much. But I believe this will make it easier to deal with Satanos," he said while floating in the air.
He had successfully escaped the battlefield. I sensed that this was part of a manipulation strategy. His fellow heroes on the ground were handling my forces with such coordination and ease.
The woman in the fully covered outfit—the nun—seemed to be playing the role of a buff specialist. She stood at the very back of the battlefield and opened some kind of massive portal on the floor. That magic circle emitted a mysterious light, and the light entered the bodies of the heroes. At the same time, those receiving the light became noticeably stronger.
Looking at this pattern, it made sense why the heroes had such impressive stamina and combat performance.
"Ah, I see. But I don't really care anymore, so go ahead and make it flashy. Give me a little entertainment this time."
I said that in front of the heroes who were still occupied. Meanwhile, the mage above summoned multiple magic portals. He said, "Of course. I'll make this rotten castle burn with holy fire." At the same time, he began chanting his spell in silence.
A few minutes later, from each of the randomly appearing magic circles above our heads, arrows were released. No, from any perspective, they were flames shaped like arrows.
"That's interesting..."
I felt like this was the kind of magic that didn't need to be taken seriously. So I simply used standard defense—manipulation armor, a type of magic invisible to others. More accurately, it could be called an anti-magic zone.
The area wasn't large. But it was enough to shield me from magical attacks. As a result, those cheap flaming arrows raining down on my residence failed to penetrate it.
Hmm... by estimation, the number of arrows could easily reach the thousands. Because... outside the range of this anti-magic zone, my castle was completely engulfed in flames.
What's worse, all the decorations and collections, like paintings and other items, were totally burned to ashes. I was genuinely annoyed by this part. But either way... there was no other option.
"Is that all?" I said that arrogantly in front of them.
The main heroine responded rudely. "Tch, that's such a cheap trick!! There's no other way! I'll finish you off right here, right now!" she said.
She leapt, running at a speed that surpassed the average human field of vision. Almost like someone using teleportation. But unfortunately, to me, it was incredibly slow.
At this near-max level, I had absorbed and studied many magical techniques. You could say I was something like a dark mage ranked above S-tier, beyond common logic. Even beyond the rules of the world itself.
"F-e-e-l t-h-i-s!!!"
Slowly.
First of all, for now, I'll keep it brief: time and space are currently in slow motion. This is a manipulation spell I acquired from the artifact—Ring of the God of Time and Space.
Yes, this item is really useful in situations like this. But even so, no matter how useful it is, the duration is extremely short. Only five minutes.
And I already had a plan. So this is all part of the new script.
---------------------
[A few minutes later]
"Damn it! What the hell is this? So much smoke!"
"....What the hell!?"
Down below, the battlefield was completely disrupted by what had just happened. A thick black fog had engulfed the entire throne room. Those who were in despair could only slash at unseen shadows in front of them. They fought with eyes nearly blinded by the fog. If they stood still, they would be killed by the creatures created by Satanos. If they attacked, it would look like a fool swinging at their own comrades without realizing it.
On the other side of the battle, the foul-mouthed main hero had apparently succeeded in stabbing the heart of the last demon king.
"Is it over!?" said the mage who was analyzing and supporting his comrades from the air. He seemed to pause the production of his holy fire arrows for a moment and looked down at the hero who appeared to have defeated Satanos.
The hero, standing there with a nearly shattered body from using too much power, said, "I'm not sure. But from what I see now\... there's no mistake. He's really dead and will soon be erased from history."
He hadn't pulled his sword out yet, which was still lodged in Satanos' chest. The throne that once looked ordinary was now partially destroyed due to the forceful impact of the hero's blade.
Even Satanos' body was in a terrible state. His chest looked like a corpse nailed to a stone throne. His eyes were bulging, staring directly at the hero's face. No sound came out. There was only a face that radiated a strong aura of death.
"Is it true!? I can't believe it... We actually defeated him!!" said a revolutionary soldier who witnessed the scene. He looked more spirited than ever, especially after all the despair they had gone through.
The fog had begun to thin out and was nearly gone. Those who were still fighting now rushed to finish the battle seriously, with joyful expressions on their faces.
For some reason, their power had increased from before, making it easier to defeat the undead army. Even the iron golems, which were previously considered impenetrable, now suffered serious damage from magic and physical attacks.
The spiritual creatures were also defeated easily. That was largely due to the buff from the priestess. She apparently had some kind of anti-spirit ability. So everyone who received her buff could easily defeat those creatures; which were supposed to be very hard to overcome.
"With this, victory is in our hands! We, the heroes, will carve a better history than ever before." A few minutes later, along with those proud words, the main hero pulled the sword that had been stuck before.
After pulling it out, Satanos' body disappeared into ash and scattered into the air. Accompanied by joyful cheers over their achievement, the terrifying creatures and undead all vanished into thick black smoke and rose into the sky.
In the midst of all that celebration, someone with a quiet tone said, "It really worked... but somehow, it's boring to watch them." And then left the place.
Well...actuality, I—Satanos was never truly dead.
To summarize what happened during those five minutes: I released a smoke spell, created an undead clone, and disguised myself as a revolutionary soldier positioned at the back of the formation.
Which means, from the start, I was standing near the nun who was giving buffs to her allies.
So the one they killed and believed to be the so-called "trash of history" was more or less just a mindless undead clone. That's why the expression on its face when its heart was pierced looked completely deranged. Not the face of someone sane.
So the plan and idea this time worked. And I'm going to live a free life out there, as an ordinary person. I haven't thought about what kind of profession I'll take next. But one thing's for sure, I really want to escape this cycle.
After all, I have no particular experience or qualifications to be a true leader. Regardless, the figure of Satanos plays a huge role in this world. He was nearly max level. He held immense power. He ruled demon territories across the land. Which means every noble and demon kingdom was under his control.
Above all, I tried my hardest not to kill the holy heroes. To prevent the world from looping again.
If I were to truly die at their hands, I believe this world would reach its ending. In other words... this game world would truly be over.
I don't know what would happen if that actually occurs. But I have a strong feeling that if it does, everything will end. That's all.