Chapter 236.1

A light bright enough to illuminate the entire Enchanted Forest converged on Shin’s body and expanded violently.

Even if they had exploited an opening for it, the love between these two was genuine, steadily prying open the stubborn fatherly heart of Shin.

Right as his sword of love and hatred was about to break under the onslaught of the overwhelming explosion of light—

“That’s quite the love magic. But that’s not enough to pa.s.s the test.” (Anos)

I created a magic sword with and pointed its tip in the same direction as Shin’s Sword of Love and Hatred.

The light of the produced by the two swords swelled twofold, then threefold, pushing back the spell.

“What…?!” (Lay)

“…I can’t believe it…” (Misa)

Despite staring at each other in shock, Lay and Misa braced their feet, put their weight into it, and focused their feelings and breaths into the Sword of Love.

The power of the clashing swords of light was nearly equal.

No, actually, we had a slight edge.

“…What… in the world…? How are Father and Anos-sama creating a that surpa.s.ses the love between Lay and me…?” (Misa)

“Don’t you understand, Misa? Love isn’t a domain exclusive to lovers. There is also parental love, as well as love between friends, and between a lord and his va.s.sal. This friendship and respect shape the love between Shin and me into another .” (Anos)

With our two swords pointed straight ahead, Shin and I thrusted them forward.

Pressed by the overwhelming light bursting forth, Misa and Lay’s feet sunk into the ground.

“…You really do the most incredible things… Not only did you cast with friendship and respect, but you even elevated it to the level of romantic love to unleash … Such a feat would’ve been beyond the conventional wisdom of Hero magic…” (Lay)

The love between a man and a woman in love surpa.s.sed any other form of love.

That was the unspoken rule indicated by the magic formula of love magic, but I found a flaw in that structure.

“It’s merely an a.s.sumption. Love is not that restrictive. Behold, our friendship has surpa.s.sed romance.” (Anos)

The then Shin and I released shone even more brilliantly, raging like a tornado and pushing back Lay and Misa’s sword of love.

“Nothing is greater than my love for My Lord” (Shin)

While pointing his sword in the same direction as mine, Shin declared confidently.

“Misa, Lay, surely you understand by now. Such a childish love game will never bring you happiness. Demons have long lifespans. A pa.s.sion as tepid as this will inevitably cool down with time.” (Shin)

As if spurred on by Shin’s words, Lay and Misa united their hearts and confronted the enormous wall standing before their love.

“Father, Lord Anos. If your friendship has surpa.s.sed romance…” (Misa)

“Then we’ll show you that our love can surpa.s.s it as well!” (Lay)

Their unyielding feelings overflowed from their hearts, intercepting and pushing back against the overwhelming light of our love.

“Look, look, Zeshia! Something incredible is happening over there! I’ve never seen such powerful love before!” (Eleonore)

“…A … of friendship…” (Zeshia)

“This might get a bit dangerous, let’s move back a bit.” (Eleonore)

“…Understood. Let’s… retreat…” (Zeshia)

Eleonore and Zeshia, who were well-versed in Hero magic, could clearly see how intense it was.

The fierce clash between both caused a disturbance in the doubles of the students, who were in the middle of their h.e.l.lish training.

“Hey, wait…! Where are you going!?” (Student A)

“Huh? My double too…?” (Student B)

“Could this be…?” (Student C)

The students’ doppelgangers raced through the Enchanted Forest as if to see who would be the first to escape, moving away from the center of the light explosion.

“That’s clearly a sign that we should all run!” (Student C)

“Oh c.r.a.p! If even our are running away, then we’re really screwed!!” (Student D)

“Look, even after getting that far away, they haven’t stopped running! If we’re not careful, we could all get wiped out by the aftershock alone…!” (Student E)

“Speaking of… Is this really part of today’s cla.s.s? Or are Anos-sama and Shin-sensei actually trying to eliminate the Hero Kanon and Avos Dilhevia?!” (Student F)

“Th-Thought so too…! No way this kind of grand magic battle is part of the lesson…!” (Student G)

“This is bad! We gotta get as far away as possible and cast anti-magic…!” (Student H)

The students, frightened and trembling, retreated as fast as they could.

Among them were girls staring at the light explosion in a daze.

“…Hey, everyone… Didn’t Anos-sama say earlier that sometimes parental love can cross a line? That it turns into a mixture of love and hatred…?” Ellen muttered quietly.

The Fan Union members all showed expressions of sudden realization.

“He did say that…” (Fangirl A)

“I heard it too.” (Fangirl B)

“No doubt about it…” (Fangirl C)

“So, does that mean Shin-sensei and Anos-sama’s friendship has crossed a line?!” (Fangirl D)

“Look! Our doubles…!” (Fangirl E)

“Ahh…! They’re running towards the light!” (Fangirl F)

“They must be telling us to follow them!” (Fangirl G)

In stark contrast to the other students’ doubles, who were running away as fast as they could, the Fan Union’s doubles, unbelievably enough, ran straight into the epicenter of the light.

“We have to go!” (Ellen)

As if solidifying their resolve, the Fan Union members started running.

“Ah, Ellen, girls! It’s dangerous over there! If you get caught up in their fight, there might not even be a trace of your sources left!” (Eleonore)

Eleonore called out to stop them, but they turned back and replied.

“But we have to witness this! It’s our mission!” (Ellen)

“As the Demon King’s Choir— No, as the Anos Fan Union, we have a duty to witness Lord Anos’ love closer than anyone else, and turn it into a song!” (Fangirl A)

“But if you get annihilated, it will all be for nothing!” (Eleonore)

“If we perish by Anos-sama’ love, then we can die with no regret!” (Fangirl B)

“And it’s a friendship that has crossed the line!” (Fangirl C)

“This is the greatest moment of destruction in this century! If we don’t risk our lives now, we won’t have another chance!” (Fangirl D)

“This is where we must fight!” (Fangirl E)

Despite Eleonore’s warnings, the Fan Union girls continued to push forward.

“Aw… What should I do? I don’t understand them at all…” (Eleonore)

“…We pray… for their safety…” (Zeshia)

Eleonore and Zeshia watched as the Fan Union girls disappeared among the trees.

“It looks like… there are people using incredible magic down there…” (Sasha)

“Dangerous…” (Misha)

Those voices came from Aisha, who was in the sky. She was watching the clash of .