"Think this'll hold me back?!" the Demon Lord scoffed, but looked like he'd put on a brave face.
Whether he forced it or not, the silver bracelet was already swelling on his wrist.
Yeah, a mage of his caliber could have dealt with three or four of them for sure, even if they prevented his recharge. But Konrad didn't plan to rely on those cursed things in the first place.
"Plenty more where that came from," Welf claimed, holding up another one.
But, um, that was the only one they still had.
And it didn't seem to intimidate Maou at all.
"You'd better kill me now, then," he grunted, and kept struggling. "Before I burn through them all and banish his little lovers. Or before the entire camp mounts a counterattack."
Ugh, yeah, they were still in the thick of it.
Konrad sighed.
"We didn't come to kill you," he said, but couldn't help the glances behind his back.
The golem was long gone, and their entry wasn't exactly subtle.
How long would it take for the tens of thousands of nomads to figure out what was going on?
"There's no reason to fight among ourselves," he claimed, trying to calm his mind. "We worked fine together on Earth, too, remember? It doesn't have to end there, now that we're back."
The Demon Lord raised an eyebrow, the transmutation bracelet about to start cracking.
Damn it. This wasn't even a minute yet.
How much mana did he have?!
Welf already hovered with the next one by his side, waiting for a word.
But it wasn't what Konrad expected.
"Did you hit your head, child?" Maou scoffed. "What's an Earth? And we, working together?"
Silence.
"Y-you don't remember?" he asked, scowling. "At all? But Yuki-san—"
He looked at the tiny emo girl for support, but she blinked at him, too.
"Ah, sorry, a bit overwhelmed. You know, by this—whatever this is," she mumbled. "And yeah, he had no idea who I am, either. But I do remember everything, don't worry, Kon-chan."
"Everything?" he repeated.
That, coming from a girl who didn't even know who she was earlier, was great news.
But she shook her head.
"No. Well, I mean the band battle. And that whirpool thing. And the wish-wash-whoosh. Then the clouds, my psychologist—who looks exactly like this princessy chick by the way."
She pointed at Gabrielle, then motioned over her face.
"After, you know."
Yeah, Konrad knew exactly what she meant.
Lily closed in to take a better look at her and the Demon Lord.
"Hmm, guess Lucifer didn't only turn him back into an old fart, but rewired his brain, too," she assessed. "But I got there before he'd mess with my copy—again."
"Copy?" Konrad asked, but who was he kidding?
Remembering their unexplainable almost-romance, it was obvious now. So before she'd explain as if he were five, he shook his head and pointed a finger at the Demon Lord instead.
"Can you undo it?"
Lily still managed a stare like that.
"No?! Why would you assume I have a stupid angel's ability?"
"What? I didn't," Konrad mumbled, surprised. "Wait, what's so offensive about me thinking you can do everything and more?! Don't you always, like—you know?"
Great, she got him flustered again. And they didn't have time for her shenanigans now.
He knew she read his mind. He didn't bother shielding it in this chaos.
And it wouldn't have worked against her anyway.
On Maple or Kaede, sure. But she had thousands of years of advantage on them.
"Okay, fine," Lily pouted. "I can't undo it, but I can show him those memories, I guess."
Well, she said that, but paused after a single step.
And was that a blush on her freckled face? Was she trying to act all cute for no reason, or—
"Actually, it has been some time for me, so I don't remember," she claimed with the cutest, innocent smirk. Yeah, she was hopeless, after all. "Um, mind if I—"
Her voice trailed off, but she didn't have to finish.
Konrad sighed.
"Sure, go ahead. But your 'copy' has the same memories, too," he grumbled, stepping closer as well. The Demon Lord was watching them with suspicion. "What do you want me to do?"
Lily, meanwhile, yanked the unsuspecting emo with her, one palm placed on her fluffy hair.
She tried the same with him, too, but Konrad was much taller.
This seemed to have offended her even more than that earlier nonsense.
"Lean in, you stupid tower, you," she demanded with the most adorable pout.
Konrad obliged, but—couldn't she take on any shape she wanted, short or tall?!
"Okay. Listen here, Meow Midori," Lily said, looking back over her shoulder.
Her hands patted each of their heads, and whether he liked it or not, Konrad felt his memories flood back. His time on Earth. The first meeting with the Demon Lord. The chilli spray—
High school. The music shop. The practice—
Kaede.
Meanwhile, he caught glimpses of the same events from Yuki-san's perspective.
He couldn't have delved deep even if he wanted, because back in the present, well—
The huge nomadic camp was finally over the earlier chaos.
And it meant that someone was about to come report to the Demon Lord and see all this madness. Should he have erected a barrier? Or replace the bracelet that was about to break?
"Focus, Konny boy," the little ginger scolded him. "You're messing up the flow."
"I'm what?"
No way she couldn't extract anything out of him, even if he resisted.
But the thought trailed off when his eyes met with Maou Midori's.
Beyond his complete disbelief, his face looked all surprised and angry.
Very angry. He balled his wrinkled hands into tight fists, trembling, and avoided his gaze.
"Is any of this true?!" he demanded, right as the transmutation artifact snapped off.
Damn it, they were too late.
Welf was already in motion to put on the next one, but Lily raised her hand to stop him.
"I'm not Lucifer," she said with a shrug. "I don't alter memories. I only show 'em. And these are from two witness accounts, no less. If you want mine, too, well, they're a bit murky, but—"
"No," Maou said, shaking his head and raising his fist in pure rage. "Damned angels," he seethed.
Simple but charged.
And yeah, Konrad could get behind that message.
But when the Demon Lord's glare landed on Gabrielle, he thought he was about to banish her.
He didn't. Yet.
"And I take it you have a plan," he grunted instead, massaging his now free wrist. "You wouldn't have come here without one, golem or not."
The nomads took those words as a cue to show up, flooding the entrance of his pavilion.
Shit. One unchained Demon Lord on one side, tens of thousands on the other.
Not a situation Konrad wanted to be in.
But right as those men—bodyguards? Messengers?—charged in, Maou Midori raised a hand.
Open palm this time. He didn't seem to be casting any spell, either. Yet.
"Hold," was all he said, and the nomads stopped.
Spears raised, bows drawn, their faces distorted with anger, but they still listened to him.
"They've come to negotiate," the Demon Lord said. "And their terms seem acceptable so far."