I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

Kuoooooooooong—

As if to sear the very existence of all things, a gigantic eye twitched open amidst the swirling shadows.

The earth quaked, resonating with the ominous mana emanating from the Demon King.

Once. The eye blinked slowly.

And with a deafening crack, the ground split open, centering around him.

The chasm seemed bottomless, its depths hidden in an abyss too deep for the naked eye to penetrate.

From within, a deathly gray energy seeped out, greedily devouring the colors of its surroundings.

Life drained, objects fell lifelessly with a thud.

Leaves rained down from the towering trees in an instant.

Birds, attempting to flee in terror, froze mid-flight, their wings locked in place as they plummeted to the ground.

Even the grass and weeds bowed their heads, drained of all vitality.

【 Nemesis – Zeke Clayman. 】

The eye fixed its gaze upon Zeke, a chilling bloodlust radiating from its depths.

The Demon King felt a surge of immense power coursing through him and let out a roar of laughter.

[ Khahahahahaha! Khahahahahaha! Power… overflowing… This is it! The power to seize you and crush you… Such overwhelming power…! Far too great for a mere human to contain! Zeke Clayman! With this, I will repay you a thousandfold for the humiliation you inflicted upon me!!! ]

The Demon King’s voice boomed with excitement and exhilaration, his laughter shaking the very foundation of the world.

In terms of sheer magical power, he now surpassed Zeke.

The inherent power he possessed, amplified by the Law of 【Nemesis】, bestowed upon him for the sole purpose of opposing the hero, was more than enough to avenge his past defeat.

“…Ah, my Master…”

Before him, the leader of Lost Hope gazed upon his liege with an awestruck expression.

His entire body trembled, but he dared not miss a single moment of this glorious spectacle.

He fought to keep his eyelids from drooping, forcing his eyes open.

“Such… Such overwhelming power…! This is the true master of Lost Hope…!!!”

A wave of ecstasy and awe washed over him. His heart pounded in his chest, a physical manifestation of the overwhelming power before him.

This was the true embodiment of an ‘absolute being.’

All those in this land would bow before the name of Lost Hope.

Although the day of glory was yet to come, he could see it clearly now.

‘To think I dared to challenge such a being…?’

How could a mere human, a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things, even dream of opposing this transcendent being who commanded power akin to a natural disaster?

The Demon King himself had declared him his nemesis, but even that title seemed insignificant in the face of such overwhelming might.

Finally, he understood why the Demon King desired a nemesis.

What purpose could there be for such a powerful entity to descend upon this world without even the slightest amusement?

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by the realization of his own insignificance.

“For Lost Hope…”

“What a pathetic loser.”

As he was about to launch into a prayer, overcome with emotion, a gruff voice interrupted him.

He whipped his head around, his face contorted in a snarl at the jarringly casual words.

“That wannabe Demon King got a little power boost from a cheap trick and now he’s all puffed up. How pathetic.”

Zeke said, munching on a piece of bread.

His eyes remained fixed on the formidable enemy before him, devoid of even a flicker of fear.

One step.

With each step he took, a brilliant blue flame ignited around him, mana swirling and crackling.

The Demon King’s ominous mana that reached him dissipated with a hiss, like dust bursting into flames.

He had been wondering about the connection between this romance fantasy world and the world he had been in before.

But after examining Julie’s powers a little while ago, he was certain.

The Demon King in this world.

It was the same bastard he had fought before.

When he encountered the Demon King’s soul fragment-like power within Julie, the fragment trembled in fear, as if reminded of a past trauma.

Just like that time, it quickly cowered and submitted to Julie after Zeke gently asserted his dominance.

Afterward, as Zeke examined the nature and feeling of mana, he came to a single, unwavering conclusion.

‘This world was born anew atop the remnants of the old, the world of Dark Fantasy.’

The dimensional barrier between Dave Continent and the interdimensional space was not something that could be easily crossed.

The fact that this bastard reappeared meant that this world was also part of the same interdimensional space.

And that explained everything: Yutra, Lost Hope, the sparse mana.

It all made sense now.

That’s how Zeke knew the origin of the power the Demon King was using, the 【Nemesis】.

The Demon King was originally a boss from that damned ‘Dark Fantasy’ game.

And that game had a damn system in place.

It was a restriction that prevented the player character from one-shotting enemies, even after grinding on weak monsters in the starting area and becoming overwhelmingly powerful.

‘That’s why I could use that leveling thing if I pretty much ignored the Lost Hope grunts and went straight for him. Damn annoying, but effective.’

That was how Zeke had beaten him to a pulp last time.

When he had thoroughly humiliated the bastard back then, the Demon King cried out about a nemesis with such a pitiful voice.

Zeke had poked around a bit more and learned that this level synchronization system was what the Demon King called ‘Nemesis.’

As Zeke was lost in thought…

“You dare! How dare you speak to our Master in such a manner!”

The bastard who was kissing up to the Demon King a moment ago was now barking at Zeke like a loyal dog.

“Shut your trap and stop wagging your tail, you mangy mutt. If you actually believe in that guy, let me give you a word of advice.”

Zeke said, offering his heartfelt advice with a cold stare.

However, the leader of Lost Hope, already completely enamored by the Demon King’s power, seemed to have completely tuned Zeke out.

“You dare! You will kneel before him this instant!!! You are nothing but a plaything…!”

Shkrrk—

“Why are you staring at me like a dea— Huh…?”

The leader, his voice booming with righteous fury, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

A thin, red line appeared across his neck, tiny beads of blood welling up along its length.

A moment later, a trickle of blood flowed down, tracing a gruesome red line around his neck.

Only then did he seem to realize that his throat had been slit.

His eyes darted between Zeke and the Demon King in a panic, but his head refused to turn.

As the realization of his impending death dawned on him, the leader’s face contorted in disbelief and resentment.

“…Gah, damn it…! I… I still… I haven’t seen the dawn of the world ruled by the Demon King…!”

He desperately tried to turn his head towards the Demon King, his eyes bloodshot, but his vision had already begun to fade.

“If you want to see your precious Demon King so badly, I’ll help you with that.”

Slap—!

Zeke struck the leader’s cheek with the flat of his blade.

With a sickening crunch, the leader’s head spun 180 degrees, finally facing the Demon King.

Thud.

[ You… You dare strike down another of my children, another of Lost Hope. ]

“Cut the crap about your children. You don’t give a damn about them.”

Even though the leader of Lost Hope, the very same being who had sacrificed everything to summon him, now lay dead at his feet, the Demon King’s voice betrayed not a hint of remorse.

After all, now that Zeke had become his nemesis and granted him immense power…

He cared little for such insignificant pawns, their faith-fueled power inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

To him, they were nothing more than stepping stones for his arrival in this world. Even if Zeke hadn’t killed them, he would have drained them of their power and disposed of them himself.

[ Khahahahahaha! As expected of my Nemesis!! Now, we can finally have a proper battle!! ]

“Don’t get cocky just because you got a little system-boosted power.”

Zeke said, slinging his sword over his shoulder and clicking his tongue in disapproval as he surveyed their surroundings.

“…Well, this place is going to end up like Dave Continent, isn’t it? Damn it.”

This was exactly why he had tried to weaken the Demon King before he descended.

The stronger the Demon King became, the more polluted the surrounding environment became by the air of the interdimensional space that had seeped in.

If the Demon King had descended in a weakened state, Zeke could have neutralized it somehow. But now that he was the designated Nemesis, there was nothing he could do.

Tsk, sigh—.

The acrid air stung his throat as he inhaled.

‘Well, I guess this is fate or whatever.’

Zeke briefly entertained the thought of a future where he hadn’t come to this world and hadn’t become the Nemesis, but he quickly shook his head.

If he had left the Demon King to his own devices, the bastard would have spread his disgusting, virus-like powers to the rats of Lost Hope in order to grow stronger.

Then, those powers would have spread like a plague across the Empire, wreaking havoc wherever they went. It was better to nip this in the bud.

‘It had to be done.’

A familiar, almost welcome sensation emanated from his hand.

A cold, ominous anticipation gleamed within Zeke’s eyes.

The sword he now held, a means to prevent the activation of the Sacrifice’s Reward…

It was one of the many swords discarded by the fleeing Eustia Knights, desperate to lighten their load.

He had held sword-like objects since coming to this world, but this was the first time he had gripped a proper sword hilt.

‘It’s not exactly a masterpiece… but it has a hilt and a blade, so…’

He sighed inwardly.

He had gone to great lengths to distance himself from swords, yet it felt as if the hilt had never left his grasp, an extension of himself.

Zeke’s sword was enveloped in a shadow as dark as his eyes.

Now that he had stopped suppressing it, the encroaching madness seeped in like water soaking into cloth.

“Yeah… I’m weaker than I was back then, that’s for sure…”

The sword pointed towards the Demon King.

Keeenng—

A blue aura enveloped the blade, its clear ring resonating through the air.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to lose to the likes of you.”

A chilling grin spread across Zeke’s face, his eyes burning with a demonic light.