Yes goddamnit, I am totally aware that Crimson Demon is a race created by that guy from Kingdom of Norse... Noise... Nose, something, who wanted to make things, I don't know the specific but yes! I fundamentally know what it means!

...maybe?

Chapter 7

"The Overlord of The Overlords."

'Honestly, it was kind of a pain pretending to be a normal big brother... But I just couldn't reveal this to Megumin.'

All the things he said, about 'Hasn't passed the basic manuals yet.' Or 'Doesn't know what things mana could amend to other than elementals and that.' are lies, nothing more than lies!

He grasped where his heart is, tears streaming down his face rather vigorously, with snots coming out of his nose. He felt so guilty! Lying to his cute little sisters and Yunyun. Still, even if he had to endure inhuman torture for their currently peaceful life, he would endure it without any hesitation.

'My little sisters, my family and my village are my first priority.'

After all, even though he still loathes the Grand Magician from the depth of his heart, the lessons and knowledge he got from him were undoubtedly invaluable. Especially this one lesson that deeply engraved his heart.

"Ever since I started to train you, you were already a soldier, what's a soldier priority? Protect! Defend! Sacrifice! Endure! There were so many things a soldier had to go through. A soldier was fearless, unstoppable in their marches, persistent in the face of their enemies. They have to be obedient to their superiors, and wholeheartedly followed their commands.

My entire life, what I admire the most wasn't a king, a hero, a magician, nor transcendent beings. No, the one I admire the most was a soldier, even if they knew their deaths were certain, they would still face their enemies without complaint, without any fear and hesitation on their face! The weak ones were the ones I admire the most, the powerless ones, the helpless ones. They aren't anything special, don't have any bloodlines, don't have any powers, but they still keep going, they keep living, keep sacrificing the things they loved the most for their precious ones. I wanted to ask them 'How?' But because of my pride, I just couldn't.

Remember, you. Respect isn't given but earned. Don't be a king, a hero, a pearless being, or a god.

Be a soldier, a person who was meant to protect, not to command, to force, to harm, or to be the best, no, a soldier was meant to protect! Even if they have to endure the immense pain from training so they could keep the civilians safe, they would go past it! Even if the gods were furious at their king, they would protect his territory, their home until the last drop of their blood!

Soldiers are cannon fodder?! What kind of fucked up concept was that?! Soldiers are protecting people! Not to buy time!

They will protect their home by any means! Even if it meant to defied the gods!

FIGHT! OR DEATH!"

A soldier... a person who became one was often forgotten, cast aside and pretty much ordinary. But their will, their fearlessness, their resolved, their faith, their exact purposes. A king's purpose was somewhat shaky, are they meant to protect? Then why didn't they fight the enemies when intruders wanted to destroy one of their territories? If you asked people what was a king's purpose, they would probably answer "To control the kingdom/empire?"

How about a hero? A hero purpose was to protect, but in history, isn't there a record where they were engulfed by their own power and tried to dominate the land?

None of them was certain, but a soldier? They always meant to protect, people became a soldier to protect. Not to became powerful, not to force people. No, people always see soldiers as a wall for them to leaned on, a wall to protect them from the dangers. Soldiers who don't run away and fought until the last of their breath would be a person that saved them, it would be engraved in their minds. Not their king, their ruler, their hero, no, it would be a soldier.

No matter what the bad deeds they did, pillaging villages, destroying places, killing people, at the end of the day, it was their king's command. And all they knew was that, if they participated in it, their families in their home would be safe.

The most respectable person wasn't the one who was at the top, but the one who could sacrifice their own for something else. Foolish? It certainly was, nonsensical? Yeah, probably, but they still did it! But that's what makes him respect them, their unshakable belief to protect with all they have. Who said the ones at the top couldn't learn from the ones at the bottom?

At least, that's how he sees it. He understands that people always have their personal opinions.

Looking at the sky above the sky, he would remind himself, no matter what he was, if he was a lord, a king, an absolute, a ruler or a god. Inside, he would remain as a soldier.

Going through those trials felt painful, and he wanted to pretty much break down, after all, he was still a kid. And as a kid, it's only natural to break down easily and feel resentment toward the culprit. But the principle of a soldier the Grand Magician told him was the reason he could go through all of that. Imagining a horde of soldiers marching to the enemies they certainly cannot defeat without any fear in their face! He imagined he was one of them when he went through the absurd training regiment the Grand Magician set up for him.

The Grand Magician...

'Yeah... ever since I ran away, I always reminiscing when the Grand Magician forced me to do inhuman training and do sort of experiments on me. But without them, I wouldn't be as powerful as now, am I? The experiments were just him testing my body's durability anyway, it couldn't be compared to the inhumane training I went through. With his 'help', I could keep my village, my family, safe.

Maybe I should give my thanks to that old man.'

Smiling gently, he closed his eyes and at the sky above the sky, a sentence made out of codexes that formed themselves from the black flashes generated by the black-lighting could be seen by the 'Overlords'.

"Let's get back to where we first met -K-01."

He may loathe the Grand Magician himself, but he couldn't deny that the deeds he did to him were fortunate for him. And when someone brings fortune to you, it is only polite to reply with a "Thank you."

Maybe with this, he could let go of the hatred he kept in his heart.

To be honest, it was just a childish resentment. A sweatdrop appeared on his forehead. But those missions...

Even if the resentment he has towards him was gone, the extreme guilt for killing thousands, millions of lives were still lingering in his heart, but he always said.

"You're gonna be powerful, so powerful one day. And with that reason, you would be nominated as a protector by people, inevitably. But a protector couldn't keep everyone safe. And sometimes, a protector has to take the matter into his own hand, alone. You have to demolish the source of problems. It could be an individual, a group, a guild, a city, a country, or even a god. Of course, you could be a guy who wanted to do whatever he wanted, like me. But with that trait of yours, I somewhat doubt that would happen."

His purpose is to be an undefeated certainty, the one that stands above all. His duty was to maintain the balance of this world. He got the title "The Overlord of the Overlords." Not for nothing. While it was cruel and nonsensical for him to massacred those innocent souls, it would benefit him, as he would be experienced at this kind of thing.

In the first place, isn't the one who was the strongest could trample the weak ones? He wasn't a saint nor a hero. He will be a protector, his main priority was to maintain the balance of the world, not to protect every soul inside it.

This is what he is, this is what the burden the strongest had to carry. But he welcomed it all.

After all, if he was the strongest, he could keep his little sisters safe! Oh, and his parents, and his... friends. What? The number one too had his precious people.

But that would be for later. For now, he's just a big brother, a son, a student, a kid and a leader, and uh... a boyfriend?

He disappeared without a trace, and at the sky above the sky, there were various colourful messages made out of the codexes like the one he made.

"Affirmative, Leader-sama! -L-16."

"Waah! It's a call! -C-11."

"I miss you! -M-06."

"You better has some shiny things. -D-18."

"Been a couple of years, eh? -R-14."

"I shall accomplish what Master told me! -Y-03."

"Ah, the number one, what's up? Your head's been fine? -T-13."

"My saviour! I shall meet you with the grace of the gods! -G-07."

"Been a while, hope no mischief would occur... -L-17."

"Kaz- K-01-sama! I shall come as you command! -R-09."

"Leader needs magnificent healing ability! -J-10."

"I'll be there. -C-20."

"Hmm! N-04."

"Ahh... I'm exhausted... but for Leader-sama! S-12."

"For justice! F-08."

"Nii-sama! I shall come! I-19."

"Maou-sama! The Crimson shall unravel the 3 forsaken realms! B-05."

"...I like sweetness. P-15."

"You better keep your distances of my king, sinful prodigies! E-02."

"Emica-02

Yameer-03

Noe-04

Beal-05

Michy-06

Gareel-07

Falheen-08

Rafhael-09

Jasmine-10

Cecillia-11

Sham-12

Trylyn-13

Roy-14

Pin-15

Lalatina-16

Leonor-17

Dust-18

Iris-19

Celesscyly-20"

The names of his kouhais, they are chaotic kids, but still, they are reliable.

Unknown Place.

"Ah, Leader-sama had called us to met up here, someone has ideas?"

"I don't know, maybe he wants to wreck the Grand Magician arse."

"Ah! That certainly would be great! Justice must be served, I agree with your opinion-"

"Justice my butt, my dear spear has urging me to fight dragons these days."

"Dragons? Pitiful, you should fight some Arch-Chimeras."

"That would be great though."

"My demon king! I've come to the promised land! Please hear my plead!"

"Shush, Master needs a competent servant, like me."

"Chaotic as always, this what will happen if he's not with us whenever we decided to met up."

"Well, I finally can meet with Nii-sama!"

"As I, your bodyguard, agree with thou statement."

"Don't be so stiff, even if we are different races, the gods are benevolent and allowed us to interact with each other."

"We aren't stiff though..."

"JUSTICE!"

"MAOU-SAMA!"

"REEEEE-"

"Ehem."

A sudden cough froze them up, a familiar voice of a person they respected the most. In front of a hill made out of stone and dirt, 19 children with various outfits, weapons, and traits simultaneously looked up.

In a long black robe and black trousers, with the black uniform he wears and a pair of boots. His black robe stimulating as harsh breezes continuously passed by. His shimmering green eyes endlessly brought fear to the ones he faced in the past was now a source of respect for whoever sees them as they looked down upon them steadily.

Raven hair frequently motioned, the eyes under the bangs glowed intensely. The Overlords slightly trembled and the feeling they felt by seeing him was still the same as the day when they witnessed his overwhelming power for the first time in their life.

The number one. The absolute. The best amongst the bests. The master amongst masters. The vandalism bringer. The eyes of anguish. The strongest.

The Overlord of The Overlords.

Kazuma.

"I've to guess, you all been well, right?"

"..."

"Y-Yes..."

"O-Of course, Master..."

A terrific existence they respect, to the degree where deifying him wasn't an exaggeration. The one who could call them, the ones who had the potential to go against the god in the future "A bunch of naughty kids."

But rather than being offended and became mad at him, they often merely chuckled and giggled. Mainly because even if they were only subordinates in his eyes, they wouldn't even utter a single complaint.

He could defeat them with a mere flick of his fingers. Them, who could go against the Sovereign of their races for a few minutes at their age. The respect was deeply engraved and it would be hard to erase it. Impossible would be correct.

He jumped down and landed gracefully, smiling softly at them that brought warmth in their heart and glanced at each of them.

"Ready for the meeting?"

Dust, 'Lalatina', Iris? Pretend they are one year younger than him.