You've all treated me very well.
When I first arrived in the demon world, I was full of anxiety,
but you gave me a very warm welcome.
I'm truly grateful.
M-Mio-sama?
But I've decided to live my life from here on as a human.
So I don't intend on succeeding my father.
Thank you for your kindness.
Here you go.
Thank you.
"Between Reality and One's Own Truth"
In regard to extracting the Demon Lord's power from Mio-sama...
Call it off.
Are you sure?
Circumstances have changed.
We must.
Yes.
Are you really sure?
Yeah.
Hey, Basara.
Father?!
You been doing well?
Dimensional fluctuation?
What do you mean, Gald?
That technique...
When Brynhildr appears, it causes a dimensional fluctuation,
which is fired as a shock wave.
It's a supersonic slash, like the cuts of a whirlwind.
It caught me by surprise.
I see.
I'm sorry, Leohart.
And I even volunteered to lead...
No, you truly did well.
Now get some rest, and heal your wounds.
I can't believe Gald was defeated.
Naruse Mio shattered that heroic spirit,
Ramsus presented a glimpse of his true power for the first time,
and that son of Jin Toujou...
...drove away Gald.
Leo-kun!
Elder Sister!
What's the matter?
You look terrifying.
Did something unpleasant happen?
No.
You can't hide it from me.
Your big sister Liala sees through everything!
I can't win against you, can I, Elder Sister?
Then let's do the usual tonight.
Don't worry. You're a splendid Demon Lord, Leo-kun.
You won't ever lose.
After all, your big sister's on your side.
I'll take care of any bad people who try to get in our way!
Whoa.
I tripped!
That was rather extravagant...
Scary, scary.
The form of the competition will be a 7-on-7 match of representatives.
Whichever camp seizes the most victories
will obtain authority over the demon realm.
Thus it has been decreed under the name of the Demon Lord Leohart.
So, what do you plan to do, Ram-chan?
Well, there's no doubt it's a trap.
At the very least, the folks on the council
wouldn't allow these conditions without some kind of ploy.
True...
It's unsettling that it doesn't touch at all on the victor's prize.
The reward goes without saying: it's Mio-chan.
And the head of whoever loses gets the axe.
Still, it's a lot better than waging full-scale war.
Just imagine if that heroic spirit showed up with a large army at its back.
The damage would be a lot worse than this.
We have no choice but to accept.
Still, things never do go quite as planned, do they?
The new Demon Lord Leohart being a man of such caliber
and you calling Mio-chan here to the demon realm
were both miscalculations, weren't they?
Indeed.
I thought the council would select a Demon Lord that was more easily manipulated,
but I was naïve.
By the way, I went to our rendezvous point when things went down,
but "she" was nowhere to be found.
Were there any changes in plans on your end, as well?
No, even I don't have a grasp on her whereabouts.
Hey, hey, seriously?
Well, Safia-chan doesn't seem to be in the demon realm at all, you know.
Mother...
You can tell?
Hmm, well, you could say it's a woman's intuition.
Your intuition's usually on target, too...
Well, for now, let's clear out the problems that are right before us.
So, how do you plan on fighting this competition?
There's no question about it.
I can't very well leave it up to those children.
Hold on there, Ram-chan.
I know Leohart was unexpected,
but if we head out ourselves,
the entire plan could be ruined.
Basara...
I'm sorry.
I...
I'll relieve you right now.
Fortunately, we still have some time before the competition.
I'll do everything I can to train them up
till the final moment before we have to head out.
I'll teach them how they can win this.
O-Onii-chan!
You can put your decision off until you see that through, right?
Damn it!
Come on. If you can still keep it up, then come at me.
Hey, hey.
It's hard enough to dodge attacks in mid-air.
So what are you doing challenging a power-type head on?
Not yet!
You're swinging that wide right after I told you not to?
That one wasn't bad, but...
if you want to hit your target for certain,
you need to break your opponent's guard with your feint.
Otherwise...
you end up like this.
Can you keep going?
Of course!
I see.
Then we'll resume after a short break.
Hey, Dad...
Hmm?
You've met the current Demon Lord Leohart, right?
Yeah. He seemed young, but he was quite good.
Do you think I stand a chance of beating him as I am now?
Let's see.
Well, if you fight him head-on, he might be stronger than me.
You couldn't beat him either?!
I'm up against someone like that?
No, no, I never said there's no way for you to win.
It'll all how you go about it.
How I go about it?
For starters, you don't have a proper understanding
of what your own greatest strength is.
To be honest, I'd rather take my time teaching it to you,
but we don't have much left to us.
You finished resting?
Huh? Y-Yeah...
A barrier?!
We're going to do this a little rough.
From this point on, I'm going to come at you without holding back.
98...
99...
Just a little more, Mio-sama!
Let's get to a hundred!
Wh-What are you saying?! Jeez!
Onee...
I can't breathe.
Don't give up yet.
Okay, that's enough.
There.
Good work, everyone!
Here's some magic water, perfect for recovering your stamina.
It's nice and cold!
Noel-san, give it to me!
Strengthening your basic physical abilities
is the most fundamental way of raising your combat skill.
If you raise your baseline well, it's sure to help you out.
But that's not enough for me as is.
I need to be better at using the Demon Lord's power,
otherwise I'll be a burden to Basara again.
If you think you can do that overnight, then you're sorely mistaken!
But that man had no problem.
Ramsus is Ramsus.
You are you.
You need to hone your own strengths before you focus on Wilbert's power.
But that's...
Well, for example...
Huh?
Onee!
M-Mother, why?
It's fine. It's fine.
Here, everyone.
Say, "ahh."
Huh?
No way.
This is...
Your Master-Servant pact incites a succubus's state of arousal,
so I created a pill to suppress the curse's activation.
But I have one warning for you all.
A warning?
As your loyalty increases,
it will grow more difficult for you all to ascertain Basara's position.
You mean?!
Ow!
What? What was that sound?
That came from Oldra Forest!
Th-This is...
What happened?
Basara?!
Could you give him some treatment?
I took it a bit too far when I cornered him.
Are you all right?
Basara!
Basara...
I'm...?
Hey. You awake now?
Dad...
We finished treating you, but don't push it.
Dad, I thought I had...
Hey, hey, you think I'd actually kill my cute boy?
Well, I was planning on pounding you enough to keep you from moving for a while.
Wh-What the heck?
You said you weren't holding back.
I thought I really was going to die.
Ow...
Who would tell you that beforehand?
If you don't have an appreciation of gaining the power by risking your own life,
then you can't really place your life in its hands, now can you?
So, what did you think when you were on the verge of death?
I...
I have to protect everyone with my own power, no matter what.
How the hell can I die here?!
That's really all I thought.
Good. And do you remember that move at the end?
Yeah, somewhat.
Good.
Then remember that sensation well.
Now, you need to imagine yourself activating that
more consciously on your own, over and over.
Got it?
But that...
That's just like...
Yeah.
The way it works is pretty close to when you
lost control of your power and caused that tragedy at the village.
It comes from converting your erasure energy into a discharged attack.
Basara!
Get a grip, Basara!
Take deep breaths. Okay?
I'm fine.
Go on, Dad.
I see.
Basara, right now you have three limiters placed on your power.
"Three limiters"?
A conscious one,
a subconscious one,
and one based on hatred of Brynhildr for helping cause that incident.
It's difficult to control the use of a demon sword.
If the wielder's not careful, it could influence his mind and consume him.
However, your aversion to that is also placing a limit on Brynhildr's power.
This afternoon you were pushed to the edge,
and you didn't have time to think about your aversion to Brynhildr.
That move's the result of that.
In order to match up with Leohart, you'll need to release one of those limiters—
two if possible—or you'll be in trouble.
Two, huh?
Don't get so pessimistic.
This coming battle isn't one where you have to beat Leohart.
What do you mean?
Basara, what was your goal in coming to the demon realm?
That's obvious. To protect Mio.
However, if you go and win against the reigning Demon Lord faction,
then the moderate faction will start up their cries again to make Mio-chan
the next reigning Demon Lord.
But if you lose, it'll all be over, too.
You're saying to aim for a draw?
No.
The place where you're looking for to settle things
is on a different field from victory or defeat.
Then how am I supposed to?
Don't worry. There's a way.
Really, Dad?
If it doesn't work out, then I'll cover your back.
So go cut loose, Basara.
All right, Dad.
On that note,
there's something I need to talk to you about.
There is?
Actually, it's about your two mothers.
Huh?
Basara...
In order to match up with Leohart, you'll need to release one of those limiters—
two if possible—or you'll be in trouble.
If I release them, then I'll...
I'll...
I'll...!
Good morning, Basara-kun!
What are you up to this early in the morning?
Um,
I have a few requests.
Ramsus-sama and I will join up with you later.
Everyone, please be as careful as possible.
Leave it to me, Nee-sama.
I'll be with them!
That's why I'm worried.
What?!
Let's go, everyone!
Next Episode Between Entwining Plots and Desires