Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 3 - Chapter 3

Chapter III: The Demon Army vs. The Liberators

A fierce wind whipped through the steel smithy every time the hammer was brought down onto the anvil. The floor had a massive circle that soundproofed the room and dampened shockwaves. A bald man stood at the anvil, working tirelessly.

“Hmph, faster.”

His voice was as rough and rugged as his features. There was a sharp glint in his eyes and his lips were pursed in a thin line. His face was creased with worry, and there were more wrinkles on his forehead than there should have been for someone his age. The man at the anvil was Laus Barn, Commander of the Holy Templar Knights. The hammer he was swinging looked plain and rather crude, nothing more than a slab of metal slapped onto a log, but it was in truth one of the strongest artifacts the church possessed.

He was alone in the smithy, and the way he repeatedly brought his hammer down on the anvil seemed almost like some kind of holy ritual. But despite how engrossed he appeared in his task, Laus’ mind was preoccupied with something else entirely.

Miledi Reisen... The girl he’d met two months ago on the western seas, as well as what had happened there.

So she’s the one who inherited the divine priestess... Belta’s will. Miledi had been nothing short of awe-inspiring. She’d blazed like the sun, wiping away the dark clouds that hung over everything in Laus’ life.

“Wherever you go, I’ll always be there to oppose you!”

That was the first time Laus had faced anyone brave enough to resist him.

“I’ll fight against you and your shitty God to the very end!”

She was the polar opposite of Laus, a man who refused to resist. Her burning resolve had etched itself inside Laus’ heart.

“Come at me if you dare, puppets of god. I’ll teach you what it means to be human!”

Laus smiled bitterly as he recalled her words. Puppets, huh...? I can’t very well deny that. Her declaration that she’d teach him what it meant to be human still stuck with him even now.

Two months had passed since their confrontation. Two whole months. But even so, Laus remembered everything like it was yesterday. In fact, it felt as though his memories were getting even more vivid as time passed. He’d kept his heart shut tight to avoid feeling anything all these years, but Miledi had just come and wrenched the doors open.

A world where people can live freely... Though Laus would never say it aloud, he was unconsciously beginning to believe in that dream. Part of the reason he’d come here to forge was because he wanted to get these thoughts out of his mind.

He was one of the cornerstones of the church’s might. Free will was his mortal enemy, an ideology he was meant to stamp out. He needed to forget his encounter with Miledi. No, he needed to beat it out of him. Unneeded emotions were to be discarded. He couldn’t afford to feel anything.

“Baldy.”

He couldn’t afford to—

“Yes you are! I can see your receding hairline clear as day!”

Miledi’s grinning face popped into Laus’ mind.

“Hmph!”

On second thought, anger was an okay emotion to feel. He swung his hammer down harder than before and a massive shockwave spread out from the anvil. The shockwave reached the walls, and the magic circle on the floor activated, dampening the impact.

“Haaah... Haaah...”

How long had he spent here? As he stopped to catch his breath, Laus realized he was drenched in sweat. Steam rose from his shiny head, which most definitely, was not bald. Or rather, he’d shaved his head to be bald, but he could grow a full head of hair if he wanted to! Though he was still angry, Laus’ mouth unconsciously formed into a faint smile as he thought back to Miledi’s joking attitude.

He practically never smiled even in front of his family, so he was shocked to find that he was smiling now. For some reason whenever he thought of her, the shackles he’d placed around his own emotions started to loosen. Sheesh, what a troublesome girl. Belta, you sure found one hell of a successor.

Laus sighed as he thought back to the priestess who’d saved his life.

“So, how long have you been watching?”

Laus’ voice echoed through the smithy, which he should have been alone in. A young man suddenly appeared from the doorway. He was thin, had swept-back black hair, and a nervous expression. The hand jutting out of his right sleeve was made of metal.

“So you noticed. What were you forging?”

The smiling young man was one of the Holy Templar Knights’ three division commanders, Araym Orcman. Wielder of the special magic Divine Blaze.

“If you want to hide from me, you’ll need a way to hide your soul.”

“That’s actually impossible.”

Araym walked over to Laus and handed him a towel. As Laus wiped the sweat off his forehead, Araym said, “It’s almost time for the meeting, so I came here to get you.”

“Hrm, already? Sorry, I lost track of time.”

As he said that, Laus realized something. He cocked his head and thought If you came to get me, why were you hiding? You could have just called out to me right away. Laus’ inquiry must have shown on his face, since Araym looked down and said, “You seemed to be lost in thought.”

“You didn’t want to disturb me?”

Laus shook his head and started walking toward the door. Araym watched him go and asked in as level a voice as he could manage, “Laus-sama, may I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“That day, when we fought on the western sea, what did that heretic say to you?”

“Which conversation are you referring to?”

Like Araym, Laus kept his voice perfectly level. Laus didn’t turn around, but Araym stared resolutely at Laus’ back and said, “What did that heretic, Oscar Orcus, tell you?”

“......”

“It seemed to me that his words left you shaken. Are you—”

“Araym.”

Araym made to walk up to Laus, but that one word from the Commander stopped him in his tracks. Laus’ voice was so utterly devoid of emotion that it was terrifying.

Laus looked over his shoulder and said, “Are you interrogating me?”

“O-Of course not!”

Araym broke out in a cold sweat, feeling intimidated by the pressure Laus was emitting. Realizing he’d been disrespectful, Araym hurriedly bowed his head.

“Let’s go. We don’t want to be late for the meeting.”

“Yes, sir. My apologies for stopping you.”

Laus looked forward again and walked out of the smithy. Araym raised his head and watched his Commander leave. There was respect in his eyes, but it was clouded by a darker emotion. Araym kept watching until Laus was out of sight. Even after Laus was gone, Araym eyed the doorway for a few seconds longer.

“Laus-sama... You are the Commander of the splendid Holy Templar Knights. You are our guiding light. Please... Please don’t forget that.”

Araym’s words were barely louder than a whisper.

Laus entered the meeting room and found everyone else was already present. Once the pope made his appearance, the meeting would begin.

This place is like a bed of thorns... Whatever I do, I feel like I’m going to get stung. Well, I guess that’s nothing new. Laus hardened his expression and walked forward. Everyone turned to him, their gazes piercing through him. Aside from one person, they all disliked Laus.

The moment Laus took his seat one of them said, “Well, well, if it isn’t Laus-dono. You sure are full of yourself, walking in last.”

“Unbelievable. If I was in your position, I would never be so careless.”

The first man who spoke was unnaturally thin and had frizzy long hair. The second had a mustache shaped like a horseshoe and had a much larger build. The former was the Commander of the Third Division of Templar Knights, Zebal Igan. The latter was the Commander of the Fourth Division, Morcus Greant.

The Templar Knights were the church’s regular army, and they were split into four divisions. Members of the Templar Knights who showed exceptional promise were promoted to one of the orders that comprised the Three Pillars of Radiance. It was for that reason that upper-ranking members of the regular Templar Knights coveted Laus’ position. All of them would be happy to see him fall. But while they were happy Laus had failed in his most recent mission, the loss of an entire division of Holy Templar Knights was a failure so great that it affected the prestige of the church. Outwardly showing their joy at Laus’ failure would be seen, not only as disrespectful, but also treasonous.

“Zebal, Morcus. Restrain yourselves. Your petty insults sully the good name of the Templar Knights.”

The woman who spoke was the Commander of the First Division of Templar Knights, and therefore the Supreme Commander of the entire order, Lilith Arkind. She had long blonde hair, dark green eyes that glimmered with wisdom, and was scarcely 27 years old. It said much about her ability that she’d managed to become Commander of the Templar Knights at such a young age. And indeed, the other division commanders both feared and respected her. Zebal frowned and turned away while Morcus shrugged his shoulders and shut his mouth.

“My apologies, Laus-dono.”

“No worries.”

Laus closed his eyes and casually replied to Lilith’s apology. Displeased with Laus’ irreverent tone, Commander of the Templar Knights’ second division, Strauss Malkyrion, raised an eyebrow. The man’s admiration for Lilith bordered on hero worship, so he didn’t take kindly to any hint of disrespect directed at her.

“Laus-dono. While you may be the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights, and the sole member of the church capable of using ancient magic, you still have no right to speak so casually to our commander. Do you realize how much work she’s had to do to reform the division you lost?”

“Leave him be. It is an honor to be granted the responsibility of reforming the Holy Templar Knights. Not once have I thought it a chore to handpick men to send to the illustrious Holy Templar Knights!”

Strauss looked away unhappily. Generally, when members of the Three Pillars of Radiance needed to be replaced, they were chosen from the pool of knights and Atavists who possessed special magic and were part of the church. Under normal circumstances, it was the commander of the respective knight order that was in charge of choosing who to replace lost members, while the captains of the respective templar knight divisions were required to find replacements for any members taken out of their ranks.

In other words, not only were the various commanders of the three pillars able to take whoever they wanted, it was up to the Templar Knights to figure out how to replace their lost members. However, Laus had found this unfair so he’d given Lilith the right to decide which members of her knights were promoted to the Holy Templar Knights. To Strauss, however, it seemed like Laus was just pushing bureaucracy he didn’t want to deal with onto Lilith.

“Commander Lilith.”

Laus closed his eyes and called out to her. Realizing he was angry, Lilith bowed her head.

“My apologies, once again, for the rudeness of my subordinates.”

“It’s fine. I’m grateful for your assistance in reorganizing my division. You have a discerning eye. All of your replacements are wonderful knights.”

“I see... That is good to hear.”

Lilith looked down as she said that. She had an enormous amount of respect for Laus, as he’d managed to make it to the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights while only being five years older than her. Details of Laus’ defeat had already circulated throughout the church, but Lilith wasn’t disappointed in him at all. She realized he’d been up against a particularly difficult opponent. But it was because she respected Laus so that she didn’t know how to respond when he thanked her.

“Laus, you shouldn’t be so taciturn.”

The man who’d spoken this time was a middle-aged man with long black hair and a monocle. He was the Commander of the Paragons of Light, Mulm Allridge. He addressed Laus casually, as they were longtime comrades who’d joined the church at roughly the same time.

“I’ll talk more when it’s necessary.”

“What I’m trying to tell you is that it’s important to say things that aren’t necessary as well.”

Mulm was quite sociable, the polar opposite of Laus. His rank was equal to Laus’ and at a glance, it seemed like the two of them were friends. In truth, Mulm believed they were. However, Laus had never confided his true feelings to Mulm.

“I’ll do my best.”

“You always say that. You’re a real handful, you know that?”

Mulm shrugged casually, and the sixty-year-old man sitting next to him opened his mouth.

“Indeed, your best may no longer be good enough, Lord Barn.”

“Lord Distark.”

Laus opened his eyes and looked at the old man. If he didn’t meet his gaze it would be seen as disrespectful, for Baran Distark was a cardinal. He wasn’t any old cardinal either, but the leader of the four cardinals. His rank was equivalent to that of the prime minister’s of other countries. He seemed like a docile old man who always happened to have a troubled smile on his face.

“Your most recent failure has had repercussions that have affected the prestige of the church.”

The church had imposed an information blackout so no other countries knew of their failure. But the knight orders within the church were all aware of it. Many had been disillusioned when they learned that the very symbol of the church’s might had been defeated. The past few weeks, Baran had been forced to run around and attempt to restore faith in the church.”

“I have read the reports about these heretics but... you mustn’t doubt the righteousness of our cause, Lord Barn. Your faith remains unshaken, correct?”

“Come now, Lord Distark. Now you’re just being rude.”

Mulm tried to mediate between Baran and Laus, but the cardinal didn’t back down. A hint of anger entered his voice and he said, “If your faith was unwavering, then you should have been able to defeat any enemy, no matter how powerful. If our lord wills us to exact divine punishment, then such punishment must be possible to execute. Is that not so?”

If Laus agreed with Baran, it would mean admitting his faith wasn’t strong enough. But if he disagreed, it would mean admitting that those who believed in Ehit were fallible. Moreover, it would mean that Ehit had indeed tasked Laus to do something that was impossible. No matter how he replied, Laus’ position would only get worse. Behind Baran’s docile exterior hid a cunning and crafty man who poisoned all he touched.

In the silence that followed, Laus said resolutely, “It’s as you say.”

“Oho! So you admit that despite being the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights, that your faith is lacking!”

Baran wasn’t trying to disparage Laus. But he was furious that the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights, the pride and glory of the church, had smeared mud over the church’s name. He didn’t care how powerful Laus’ adversaries had been. All that mattered was that he’d failed to carry out Ehit’s will. Regardless of his reasons, the mere fact that Laus had failed was tantamount to betrayal.

Unfortunately for Laus, Baran’s opinion was shared by everyone else at the table. Even Lilith, someone who was aware of the difficulty Laus had faced, believed that it would be better to commit suicide after such a failure than return home alive. She wasn’t disappointed in Laus, but she definitely would have taken her own life if the same thing had happened to her. It was for this reason that no one said anything to defend Laus, and just watched him quietly.

“It’s as you say, Lord Distark.”

“Wha!?”

Laus readily affirmed Baran’s words. Publicly, in a room where all of the church’s most influential members were gathered. In other words, Laus had just admitted to the most zealous followers of Ehit that his faith in Ehit was lacking. It was only natural that Baran and the others were shocked.

“I am lacking both in body and in mind. My strength and conviction are insufficient.”

Laus ignored the shock on everyone’s faces and continued talking. At a glance, it seemed as though he was ashamed of his own lack of faith. Because for the first time, everyone was seeing him display emotion. The same Laus Barn who was known for being taciturn and stoic. It was only natural that everyone would assume he was the one angriest at himself for his failures. Though in truth, Laus didn’t think that at all.

The one person who hadn’t spoken yet also chose to interpret Laus’ vehemence as anger directed at himself. He looked at everyone and said, “Calm down, everyone. There is no reason to doubt Laus-dono’s faith. Has he not shown time and time again through his actions that he is loyal to the church?”

His name was Kimaris Simtail. He was an old man in his late seventies, and his white hair was parted to one side. He was the leader of the seven archbishops of the church. Furthermore, he was the pope’s right-hand man and took care of many of the church’s affairs. Naturally, everyone respected him too much to argue.

“Laus-dono is the one most frustrated by his failure. It is for this reason that His Eminence, the Pope, has decided not to punish him.”

Kimaris narrowed his slit-like eyes, his expression inscrutable. There was no inflection in his voice, either. Cowed, the other members of the church nodded, while Laus lowered his head in gratitude.

“Now then, enough idle chatter. His Eminence has arrived.”

A second later the magnificent double doors at the back of the room opened with a heavy creak. Before the doors fully opened, Laus and the others got to their feet and knelt by their seats. After two masked priests finished opening the double doors, a white-haired old man strode into the room. He wore a long, white robe and a long cape of velvet trailed behind him. Two children reverently held up his sleeves so they didn’t touch the floor.

Behind him followed the Commander of the Paladins, Darion Gauze. He was the only member of the Three Radiant Pillars who hadn’t been present in the meeting room. He had short brown hair and average looks. In fact, he seemed so average it was easy to forget he was there.

Everyone watched him walk in silence, the only noise in the room the faint rustling of his clothes. Finally, the pope, Lucifer Slaine Elbard, took his seat. Darion remained standing behind Lucifer, a silent shadow hovering behind him.

“Let us begin.”

Laus and the others got to their feet and sat down. Baran started the meeting off. He gave Lucifer a full report on the political situation of each country, as well as how well their economics and agriculture were faring. He then made suggestions as to what policy the church should take with each country. After a brief Q&A session, Lucifer granted his approval for Baran’s policies. Next, Kimaris gave his report. The knights went after him, and for an hour everyone just exchanged information. Lucifer asked no questions this time, so silence fell after the last report concluded. Everyone was waiting to hear what Lucifer would say. The Pope’s next words surprised everyone, though:

“There is someone I would like to introduce to you all.”

Lucifer waved his hand, and the priests manning the doors silently opened them. It was practically unheard of for the pope himself to introduce someone, but everyone grew even more surprised when they saw who walked into the room.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, everyone. I am Ainz Arsalk, and I have been granted the position of Oracle by His Eminence, the Pope. I look forward to working with all of you.”

Her clear voice rang out through the room. She looked absolutely stunning. Her silver hair, her silver eyes, and her features were all beautiful. In fact, she looked almost divine. The leading members of the theocracy were speechless. Even though they knew it was rude, they couldn’t find the words to respond to her introduction.

“Lord Ehit wished that she be the next Oracle.”

At Lucifer’s words, the others returned to their senses. Everyone, but Laus, introduced themselves to Ainz. It wasn’t because Laus was speechless that he didn’t say anything. In fact, Ainz’s arrival hadn’t stunned him like it had everyone else. He didn’t say anything because he was utterly terrified of this new Oracle.

“Laus.”

“Ah... My apologies. I am Laus Barn, Commander of the Holy Templar Knights.”

It was only when Lucifer called his name that Laus hurriedly introduced himself. It took everything he had to keep his voice from shaking. He was lucky that everyone else had been captivated by Ainz for so long. If they’d all introduced themselves right away, he wouldn’t have been able to compose himself in time. Beads of cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

“Everyone, I have come here to deliver a message to you.”

Ainz smiled at everyone, her tone charming. Zebal and Morcus had already fallen for her.

“When revolution comes to the world, Seven Children of God shall appear. Their ancient talents shall bring either ruin or rebirth. Prepare yourselves, for a storm is coming.”

“Is that—”

Kimaris’ slit-like eyes widened, something that almost never happened. Ainz nodded to him.

“This is an oracle from Lord Ehit, yes.”

The knights murmured in excitement to each other. They’d just been given a message from Ehit himself. For people who’d devoted their lives to serving him, there was no greater honor.

But a second later, Ainz’s expression grew grave and she said, “We have already identified five of the seven.”

One was, of course, in this room right now. Everyone turned to Laus. He was capable of using ancient magic, the magic of the gods. Ainz looked up to the heavens and continued her prophecy.

“One is the ruler of gravity. The former heir of the Reisen family and currently the leader of the heretic organization known as the Liberators— Miledi Reisen.”

Kimaris and the others frowned bitterly.

“Another is the maker of artifacts. He, too, is a Liberator— Oscar Orcus.”

Ainz took two sheets of paper out of her sleeve. They were pictures that had been taken on the western seas by someone who possessed the special magic Spirit Photography.

“Yet another is the master of space. He is also a Liberator— Naiz Gruen.”

One picture showed Miledi holding back the sea with her magic alone. Next to her, Oscar threw a barrage of enchanted swords at the Holy Templar Knights. Each sword was powerful enough to be a national treasure. A short distance away, Naiz opened portal after portal, teleporting ships to safety. The second picture showed—

“There is also the empress of restoration. Another Liberator— Meiru Melusine.”

Meiru restoring a rotted ship to its former glory. Ainz then turned to Laus.

“Lastly, we have the arbiter of souls— Laus Barn.”

Laus felt like someone had driven an icicle into his heart. Despite Ainz’s overwhelming beauty, her emotionless eyes terrified Laus. Ainz turned away, a worried expression on her face. To Laus, she looked like a puppet desperately trying to mimic human emotions.

“As I am sure you all are aware, four of the five known Children of God are heretics.”

“It is utterly deplorable that Lord Ehit’s own children would rise up against him. Have those heretics lost their minds!?”

Baran slammed his fist against the table in anger.

“Even those with divine power can have their heart corrupted by evil. Lamentable as it is, it’s not too late. We can still show them the Light of Lord Ehit.”

I’m pretty sure if you tried to show Miledi the “Light of Lord Ehit,” she’d just give you the middle finger... Laus thought absently to himself.

“More importantly, there remain two other Children of God.”

“Oh, yes. We must show them the light of the church before their hearts are corrupted!”

Kimaris’ voice burned with ardent fervor.

“Indeed we must,” Ainz replied, and Kimaris blushed slightly.

“The location of one of them was revealed to me in an oracle.”

Everyone cheered. Oddly enough though, the Pope had not said a word ever since he’d told Laus to introduce himself. Ainz had completely taken over the meeting, and the knights were getting more and more pumped up. On the other hand, Laus felt chilled to the bone.

“A child of god exists somewhere deep within the country inside the Pale Forest.”

“D-Doesn’t that mean... that child of god is a mong— Sorry, forgive my rudeness... a beastman?”

“That is the most likely possibility, yes.”

The mood in the room suddenly turned dark. The church believed humans were the ultimate race. On the other hand, beastmen were seen as blasphemous, half-blood mongrels. There were, of course, beastmen who were a mix between spirits of the earth, forests and humans instead of a mix between beasts and humans, like dwarves and elves, but they didn’t possess mana either. On top of that, they worshiped nature instead of Ehit, so the church viewed them as lesser beings as well.

“This is yet another trial Lord Ehit has imparted unto us,” Ainz said.

“A trial...”

Kimaris turned Ainz’s words over in his head, and she nodded at him.

“Among the ancient magics, there is one that allows a person to remake themselves.”

“Oh, I understand now! We need to set an example to the other races. We have to show that Lord Ehit’s grace can wipe away all impurity and return people to their proper forms!”

Followers of Ehit believed all races other than humans were impure. However, they had been granted an opportunity to wipe away that impurity. Kimaris and the others’ goal was now to save that Child of God from their own impurity. Kimaris’ passionate speech reignited the fire in the knights’ hearts, and they were once again excited for their mission. It was then that Lucifer finally spoke.

“I have orders for you.”

Everyone hurriedly straightened their backs and turned to the pope.

Once the room was silent, Lucifer declared, “Investigate the beastmen republic. Secure the Child of God, no matter what it takes, and bring her to this holy sanctuary.”

Everyone responded “As you wish,” simultaneously. However, the amount of emotion in those few words was staggering. Until now, the church’s investigation of the Pale Forest had been pretty half-hearted. Exploring the forest was a difficult task, but now the church had a good reason to pour its best resources into it.

It’s possible... the Republic will...

More cold sweat poured down Laus’ forehead.

“This meeting is adjourned... Laus, follow me.”

“Y-Yes, Your Eminence.”

Kimaris and the others were surprised Lucifer had asked specifically for Laus, but right now their attention was focused on their new mission. They would save this Child of God and purify them of their heathenness. That was the only thing they were thinking about right now.

While everyone filed out of the room, Laus followed Lucifer to the double doors he’d come in from. Darion and the Oracle came as well. Beyond the doors was a marble hallway covered in luxurious carpet. As they walked down the hallway, a pair of priests came to attend Lucifer. Both of them stared at his feet, not daring to look up at him. Every single person, Laus included, showed no outward emotion.

Before, Laus wouldn’t have questioned any of this, but now it all seemed so strange to him. Just as that thought ran through Laus’ mind, the pope addressed him.

“It seems your peers have been quite critical of you.”

“The fault lies entirely with me, Your Eminence.”

Laus bowed his head in contrition.

“There is one other wielder of ancient magic in Igdol.”

“Huh? I-I see.”

The sudden change in topic caught Laus off-guard. Especially since he was expecting to be blamed for his failure.

“Somewhere out of our sight, events are being set in motion.”

“You mean... the demon lord is preparing for war?”

Lucifer nodded slowly. Laus was even more confused now. According to Baran’s reports, the current demon lord was focused on internal affairs and seemed to be showing no signs of war preparations.

How does he know about all of this? Laus turned to Ainz. But then Lucifer spoke again, bringing Laus’ attention back onto him.

“War will come. For certain.”

It seemed almost like Lucifer was speaking to himself.

“The demon lord cannot help but fight against humans. It is the reason for his existence.”

Lucifer came to a halt and turned his gray eyes on Laus.

“The demon lord’s beliefs will always drive him to war.”

“......”

Laus had no idea how to respond to that. Nonplussed, all he could do was nod.

“Laus.”

“Yes, Your Eminence?”

“The storm is nearly upon us. You are Lord Ehit’s vanguard. I expect much from you.”

In other words, this is my chance to redeem myself, huh? Laus was finally beginning to see where Lucifer was going with this. He knelt in front of the Pope and bowed his head.

“I am prepared to give my life and my soul for the cause.”

Nodding, Lucifer resumed walking. Darion and the priests passed by Laus, who was still kneeling behind the pope. But when Ainz reached Laus, she stopped.

“This is our Lord’s will. Do Him proud.”

“Yes, ma’am. It is an honor to be trusted by Him.”

For a moment, Laus hesitated, wondering if there was any deeper meaning to Ainz’s words. But in the end, he bowed his head to her. Satisfied, Ainz walked off. Once everyone was gone, a wave of exhaustion washed over Laus. The Oracle Ehit had appointed was a soulless, empty puppet. She was the one Ehit had wanted to deliver His Will. Laus shivered unconsciously. He felt as though he’d just been weighed down by heavy chains.

His work for the day done, Laus headed home. Not only did he have a high-ranking position in the church, but he was also a member of the noble Barn family. His house was a palatial mansion located within the residential district closest to the capital’s palace. When his carriage arrived at the gates to his house, the gatekeeper reverently opened the way for him.

“Laus-sama! Welcome home!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The gatekeeper was a young man in his mid-twenties. He had smooth, ash-brown hair and he revered Laus. His name was Reinheit Ashe, and Laus had personally handpicked him for this job. Reinheit wasn’t particularly strong, and he didn’t possess any outstanding abilities.

However, he did have the special magic Pure Soul, which allowed him to resist any and all external influences on his mental state. Brainwashing magic and the like didn’t work on him. Like Laus, he hadn’t been brainwashed by the church.

Of course, that didn’t really change anything. The only reason Laus had picked Reinheit specifically for this job was because he’d felt safer with Reinheit at the gates than anyone else.

Naturally, Reinheit had no way of knowing any of this. All he knew was that the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights had handpicked him to be his gatekeeper. Reinheit had been born in the countryside, and the only reason he’d been invited to the capital was because the church had discovered his special magic. However, his abilities were considered the weakest among the Atavists. When he’d first left his hometown, his village had cheered him, but as time passed, he realized he had no hope of advancement. Before long, he started to worry that he might end up letting his village down. Which was why when Laus selected him to be his gatekeeper, he was overjoyed. Since then, he’d had nothing but respect for the Commander.

“Laus-sama, are you feeling unwell?”

“Hm? What makes you say that?”

“Oh, it’s just, you looked a little more haggard than usual.”

“I must really be losing my touch if you can see through me.”

“P-Perish the thought! You won’t be losing your touch for another thirty years at least! Please don’t joke about something like that!”

“Do you truly think so? Well, you’re right in that I’m a bit tired today. You have a good eye, Reinheit.”

“O-Oh, I just... Ehehe.”

Laus walked up to the entrance of his house, chatting with Reinheit. After seeing the fanatic zeal his fellow knights had shown toward Ainz, it was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t insane about Ehit.

“I’ll return to my post then, Laus-sama.”

“Mmm, keep up the good work.”

“Yes, sir.”

Reinheit saluted and turned back around. Laus watched him go for a few seconds, then opened the door. The moment he did—

“Welcome back, Dad!”

A young child rushed over to him. His glossy gray hair was parted to one side, and he had intelligent eyes. He was Sharm, Laus’ eight-year-old son.

“You’re still awake, Sharm?”

“I stayed up because Mom said you were coming home today!”

Smiling, Laus lifted his son up. Normally, his work kept him cooped up in the palace or the main cathedral, so he didn’t get to see Sharm often. That was probably why he was so susceptible to smiling whenever he did.

“Welcome home, Dear.”

“It’s good to see you, Ricolis.”

The woman who’d come out to greet him was Ricolis Barn, Laus’ wife. She had pale blonde hair that was braided at the back.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s see what we can get for you.”

Ricolis gave a few instructions to a nearby servant, then walked gracefully over to the dining hall. Laus followed behind her, talking with Sharm all the while. As soon as Laus took his seat, food was brought to him. Sharm sat next to him and watched his father eat with a smile. Ricolis sat down as well and sipped on some tea while Laus ate.

At a glance, Laus’ family seemed perfectly happy. But then the last remaining resident of the house showed up to break the illusion that this was a perfect family.

“So you’re back, Laus.”

“Mother.”

The woman who’d entered the dining room was Debra Barn, Laus’ mother. Though she was 54, she looked much younger. Despite that she always seemed to have a stern look on her face. Debra sat down at the dining table and turned her stern gaze to Laus.

“The other day, one of the empire’s dukes offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. He said he didn’t mind if she was your second wife, either. I won’t allow you to refuse this time.”

Debra was asking Laus to take another wife right in front of Ricolis. This wasn’t because she hated Ricolis, though. In fact, even Ricolis said, “My, what wonderful news. You should absolutely accept.”

Debra nodded and added, “All people of Elbard belong to Lord Ehit. It would set a bad example for you to have only one wife. One of your duties is fathering as many children as possible, in the hopes of producing an heir capable of using Lord Ehit’s magic.”

“Your mother’s right, Dear. While I was lucky enough to give you three children... there is no harm in trying to propagate your divine bloodline further.”

Like everyone else in Elbard, Debra and Ricolis were devout followers of Ehit. Meaning they were fanatics whose beliefs and values all revolved around him. Ricolis had mentioned this earlier, but Laus had two children aside from Sharm as well. Ricolis herself had been chosen for Laus by the Pope and his Cardinals. They’d wanted someone from a good family with a lot of magic potential for him. As a result, the other two children he’d had with Ricolis both possessed special magic and had a high aptitude for regular magic. They’d already been taken to the main cathedral to be brainwashed.

Both had been taken from Laus’ house when they were five, and he hadn’t seen them for years. Chances were the next time he saw them, they’d be pious followers of Ehit. Sharm also showed promise when it came to magic, and it was just a matter of time before the cathedral whisked him away too.

However, Ricolis wasn’t sad about losing her children. In fact, she was overjoyed that her children had the opportunity to serve Ehit.

Debra felt the same way. Laus had had five siblings, and all of them had died serving in the Holy Templar Knights just like his father. Yet, Debra hadn’t been sad when any of them had died. After all, she considered martyrdom an honor. When Laus’ siblings had died, Debra had been happy that they could finally join Ehit’s side.

This was why neither Ricolis nor Debra had any qualms about pushing Laus to have as many kids as humanly possible. The only person within this twisted theocracy that wanted to love a single woman, actually raise his kids, and grieve when his family died... was Laus.

“I’m busy with a mission. His Eminence personally tasked me to take care of something. I don’t have time for marriage talks.”

“That’s what you always say.”

Debra let out an exaggerated sigh. Ricolis looked troubled by Laus’ statement as well. Laus pretended not to notice and continued silently eating his food.

Realizing that his parents were about to start fighting Sharm hurriedly said, “D-Dad, listen to this! The other day, I...”

Ricolis shot him a look that said “Not now” and Sharm trailed off. But then Laus said “Go on,” and he brightened up again.

Laus had been surreptitiously casting spirit magic onto Sharm, just like he had with all of his other kids. Even if they were doomed to end up in the cathedral, he wanted to at least let them live free from the church’s maddening influence for a little while. Spending time with his kids was both relaxing, because of how innocent and free they were, but also worrying because he knew they’d eventually be brainwashed.

Sharm started telling Laus about the history topics he’d studied today, and asked a bunch of questions regarding them. All of his questions were insightful, hitting on topics that his textbooks hadn’t covered. While Laus was by no means a doting parent, he couldn’t help but smile when he saw how wise his son already was. Laus gladly answered all of Sharm’s questions, until one caused everyone present to freeze.

“Dad, all demons are evil heretics, right? But I learned in class that the current demon lord hasn’t started any wars. Could it be that there are good demon lords out there?”

“Sharm! How could you even ask that!?”

Ricolis’ gentle demeanor vanished and she rounded on Sharm. Seeing his mother’s reaction, Sharm realized he asked something he shouldn’t have and paled.

“What made you think that?”

Laus’ heart started beating faster as he considered the prospect of a “good” demon lord.

“W-Well... if everyone in Elbard is good because the Pope is good... I was thinking that if the demon lord was good, all the demons might become good too... That way, you wouldn’t have to go fight, Dad.”

“......”

Sharm’s words were full of kindness. The kindness of a son thinking of his father. But Laus could neither praise his son nor do anything to calm Ricolis’ wrath. Because he’d suddenly realized something that made him extremely uneasy. The Pope is like a living avatar of God... Ehit’s Will given flesh.

Laus thought back to what the Pope had told him. “The demon lord cannot help but fight against humans. It is the reason for his existence.”

The demon lord was like the demons’ pope. Another living avatar of God. The demon lord was always the strongest demon of their generation, and they were venerated by demon society. As far as Laus knew, there was no one else the demons treated like that. Laus had always thought that the demons saw the demon lord as their god. But what if—

“The demon lord’s beliefs will always drive him to war.”

What if “the demon lord’s beliefs” weren’t his convictions or what he valued. But instead, they referred to the deity the demon lord revered.

“Ah!”

Laus felt as though someone had thrust a blade of ice into his neck. It was as if that soulless puppet was suddenly standing behind him.

“This is our Lord’s Will.”

“So that’s what she meant...”

Laus slammed his fist against the table, spilling his wine glass. This is a chance to redeem myself? I’m an utter moron!

That hadn’t been a second chance, but a warning. A warning that he needed to remain the church’s vanguard, regardless of what truths he uncovered.

No, it’s possible... that Ehit has already seen through everything. And he’s just enjoying watching me squirm. What if the sinking of Andika and the leviathan’s revival had both happened because Ehit had willed it? A red stain spread through the pure white tablecloth. To Laus, it looked like a horrible omen.

“D-Dad. I-I’m sorry... I...”

Returning to his senses, Laus realized Sharm was trembling in fear. Even Ricolis and Debra were so shocked by Laus’ anger that they forgot to scold Sharm.

“Sorry, Sharm. I’m not mad at you.”

“R-Really?”

Calming himself down, Laus patted Sharm on the head. Only then did Sharm sigh in relief. After a brief pause, Laus decided to voice something he normally never would have.

Ignoring the fact that Ricolis and Debra were present, he said, “I think that’d be good too, Sharm.”

“Huh?”

“I... think it’d be nice. If there was a good demon lord.”

“Oh... Yeah. Yeah! It’s a good thing, right!?”

“Yeah.”

Laus watched his wife and mother glare at him in disapproval, but he ignored them and continued patting Sharm’s head. Impatience and unease stirred within him. But at the same time, Sharm had lit a small but steady fire within him.

Miledi felt as though she was drifting through a sea. Her consciousness was hazy, but she could distinctly make out a light in the distance. She had no idea if it was hot or cold where she was, but she felt compelled to head to the light. Swimming with all her might she made it to the light and—

“Mmm...” Opened her eyes.

She found herself looking at an aquamarine ceiling. The ceiling was tinged with orange, and she turned to see a lantern softly illuminating the room.

“You finally woke up. Thank goodness...”

A quiet voice filled with emotion reached her ears. Finding speech still too difficult, Miledi instead turned to the direction of the voice. The light of the lantern illuminated a familiar face: Oscar’s. Even through his glasses, Miledi could tell there were deep bags beneath his eyes. Tears of relief sprung to Oscar’s tired eyes when he saw Miledi was awake.

Miledi was still half-asleep though, and she wasn’t able to fully process what was going on. Despite that, a vague sense that she was safe washed over her. Basking in that feeling, Miledi stared silently at Oscar.

“Hm? Miledi?”

When Oscar called her name, the feeling multiplied exponentially. Oscar then reached out and touched her forehead. His hand felt soft and cool. Miledi closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.

“You still have a fever.”

Oscar took his hand back. A small “Ah” escaped from Miledi’s mouth.

Don’t take your hand off me, you bastard!

“Do you feel up to drinking something?”

Oscar spoke gently and held out a thin metal rod. It was arched, with a hole in one end. Attached to the hollow end was a cup. When Oscar mentioned the word drink, Miledi suddenly realized how thirsty she was. She opened her lips, and Oscar brought the cup to her mouth. She sucked on it greedily, taking a few large gulps. As the liquid slid down her throat, her consciousness grew more clear. Whatever was in the cup was tart and delicious. Miledi realized it was more than just fruit juice when she noticed her energy returning to her. Oscar had mixed healing potions and vitamin drinks with it. Once she’d drunk her fill, Miledi turned back to the boy by her bedside.

“O-kun?”

Oscar nodded and said, “Yep, it’s me, O-kun.”

He smiled jokingly. Feeling oddly embarrassed, Miledi pouted at him. At the same time, her mind finally started processing where she was.

“What happened to me... and where are we...? I thought we... Oh yeah—”

Miledi struggled into a sitting position. That simple action caused her head to spin.

“Calm down. This is the Schnee clan’s hidden village. We’re safe.”

Oscar gently lowered Miledi back into bed. But Miledi tried to get back up again. Her fragmented memories told her that one of her comrades was in danger and that she needed to help him.

“A lot happened, but right now, you need to rest. You can’t do anything in that state.”

Oscar gently rebuked Miledi and forced her to lay down a second time. He then wiped her forehead and neck with a wet towel. Miledi grumbled, but she obediently let Oscar take care of her. Fine, I’ll stay in bed for a bit longer.

“What happened to me? How long will it take before I’m healed?”

If she needed rest to get better, then she’d rest with all her might. But first, she wanted to at least know what was going on, or she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Sighing, Oscar answered, “You ended up catching a local disease.”

“What kind of disease?”

The artifact Rasul had used debilitated its target. Judging by the fact that Oscar and Naiz had been unaffected, he could only affect one person at a time. Since the Reisens had always been the demons’ most dangerous enemy, he’d chosen to use it on Miledi. The reason Miledi had started feeling unwell the moment they landed was because she’d actually caught a local disease. Rasul had taken advantage of that and strengthened the symptoms, which was why his artifact had been so potent.

“Apparently, after you get infected with this disease once, you build a resistance to it.”

However, that only happened if the patient recovered naturally. If Meiru used restoration magic to cure Miledi, she’d still be susceptible to it. The Schnee had already given Miledi the required medicine, and she was on the path to recovery. So for now, it would be better if she rode the whole thing out naturally instead of using magic to accelerate the process.

“I see... Haaah, I can’t believe I ended up getting sick now of all times... How pathetic.”

Miledi pulled her blanket up to her chin and sunk into her pillow.

“Really this is our fault.”

“Huh?”

Miledi shot Oscar a confused look and he smiled bitterly.

“Recently, you’ve gotten more relaxed, right? That’s a good thing, but...”

Oscar dipped his towel in a bucket of water and wrung it out.

“For the past couple of years, you’ve had to push yourself as hard as possible to protect everyone and take care of the Liberators.”

Miledi had been fighting desperately this whole time. She hadn’t had time to get sick.

“But now you’ve got us.”

“......”

Ever since meeting Oscar, though, Miledi had found comrades who were strong enough to protect her.

“So your body probably thought it was okay for you to rest for once.”

According to Oscar, that was why Miledi had gotten sick. After wringing out the towel, Oscar carefully placed it on Miledi’s forehead. As the moist towel cooled her feverish body, Miledi felt her consciousness grow dim.

Ah, so that’s what it was... She turned Oscar’s words over in her mind.

“Curse you, O-kun. I’ll make you pay for this.”

“I said you’ve got ‘us,’ so why are you singling me out?”

Miledi harrumphed and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she said, “O-kun, are you still here?”

“Yeah, I’m right here. By your side.”

“Mmm...”

Miledi shifted underneath her blankets. Her hand poked out of the covers. Oscar gently grabbed it, thinking it was rare for her to be this spoiled around anyone but Meiru. The moment Oscar’s fingers wrapped around Miledi’s, she relaxed completely. In seconds, she was breathing deeply. Oscar sat by her side, watching her sleep. His smile was exceedingly gentle.

“Oh my, how adorable! Just watching them melts my heart!”

“Wawawah, Meiru-oneechan, we shouldn’t disturb them!”

“Fufu. Oh, Oscar. You really do love Miledi, don’t you?”

Oscar’s smile suddenly stiffened and he turned around.

“Why don’t you guys come in?”

Oscar did his best to keep his voice even, but it was extremely embarrassing knowing his family had seen that. I know I’m tired, but how could I not notice they were there!?

“Oh, sorry Oscar. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t listen.”

The first one to come in was Ruth. Following behind him was an apologetic Corrin, a grinning Meiru, and a smiling Moorin.

“Is Miledi-chan doing okay?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Meiru sighed in relief when she saw Miledi was sleeping peacefully. Ruth and the others looked relieved as well. It was understandable, considering how bad Miledi had looked when Oscar and Naiz had first brought her here. That was the first time Ruth and the others had seen Oscar look so worried too. Despite the fact that Oscar himself had been exhausted after their battle with Rasul, he’d spent two whole days nursing Miledi without rest. He hadn’t even spent much time talking to Ruth and the others, though it had been their first meeting in months. That was how bad Miledi’s condition had been.

According to the Schnee clan’s doctor, if she’d been treated even a day later, she might not have survived. And so, Oscar’s worry had been understandable.

“We should let Miledi rest. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Oscar tried to get to his feet, but was pulled back down. It seemed Miledi had no intention of letting go of his hand. Sighing, Oscar tried to pry Miledi’s fingers off of him.

“Mmm...”

But the moment he did, she started to groan. She absolutely wasn’t going to give up on his hand.

“It’s fine. Let Miledi-chan have what she wants for now.”

Meiru waved her hand, and a thin membrane of water surrounded Miledi. It soundproofed the space around her and kept the air pure. Oscar turned around in his chair and smiled sadly at Meiru.

“Sorry. I didn’t even explain anything to you.”

“It’s fine. Naiz-kun told me most of what happened. It sounds like you guys had it rough.”

“Yeah... What’s Naiz doing now?”

“He’s been caught.”

Oscar didn’t need to ask who he’d been caught by. Susha and Yunfa had been waiting ages for Naiz’s return, but when he’d finally come back, he’d been too busy looking after Miledi to spend time with them. So it was hardly surprising that they’d managed to kidnap him now that Miledi’s condition had stabilized. Just then, a pale-blue blob of sticky liquid appeared on Meiru’s shoulder.

“Come to think of it, I never thanked you either, did I?”

The slime bowed its head as if to say “think nothing of it.” The slime was, of course, Batlam, who was supposed to have been burned to death by one of Rasul’s generals. Oscar thought back to when he’d first discovered Batlam was still alive.

After Naiz had teleported everyone out of the castle, the two had stopped at a nearby spring for a short rest. Oscar especially had needed to heal his wounds before they went any further.

He’d cast Benison Aura on himself and had been wondering where he’d find someone who could treat Miledi, or preferably find some way to rendezvous with Meiru, when Batlam had suddenly popped up on his shoulder. It seemed the part of Batlam that Lestina had burned had actually been a clone that had mimicked the main body. In truth, the part of Batlam that contained his mana crystal had been a tiny piece of slime that had hidden inside Oscar’s clothes.

It seemed the demon lord had done something to prevent Vandre from contacting Batlam, but the diligent butler-slime had nevertheless known what it needed to do. It guided Oscar and Naiz to the Schnee village. However, the two of them hadn’t been able to reach it immediately. The demon lord had possessed an artifact that allowed him to broadcast messages to all his nobles instantly, and there were wanted posters for Oscar, Naiz, and Miledi everywhere.

Since every demon was more or less capable of combat, every village had gone on high alert and posted heavy guards. Even if Oscar and Naiz had attempted to sneak in with disguises, they would probably have been reported just because they were people the villagers didn’t recognize. Besides, all cities and towns required identification to enter. As a result, Oscar and Naiz had been unable to rest at inns, and they’d been forced to take circuitous routes through forests and mountains. On top of that, they had to constantly stay on high alert.

The demons’ coordination and unity had been terrifying. For the first time, Oscar had realized how it was they’d managed to control almost an entire continent despite being so few in number. Even the normal villagers were accomplished mages. And all of them wanted the reward for capturing the thieves who’d snuck into the demon lord’s castle. No matter where Oscar and Naiz went, the demon army’s patrols always caught up to them within a few hours. Eventually, they even managed to figure out the range of Naiz’s teleportation abilities and posted ambushes in the locations he brought the party to.

All the while, Miledi’s condition continued to worsen. Realizing that time was of the essence, Oscar had proposed a risky plan to Naiz. He would take care of all the fighting, and Naiz would focus on using his mana only to teleport the party. Oscar had been forced to fight continually, all on his own. Knowing that if Naiz became too exhausted to teleport, Miledi would be doomed, so he’d let Naiz rest while he kept a lookout. Despite being utterly exhausted, Oscar had continued to valiantly fight alone, knowing that defeat would spell death.

They continued like that for three whole days. By that time, Oscar looked more like a beast than a man. He’d had to fight continually, protecting Naiz and Miledi from any threat that came at them. However, time was running out. Miledi was barely hanging onto life by a thread. Oscar became so desperate that he infiltrated a village and threatened a demon doctor into treating Miledi. Of course, the doctor just gave her useless medicine and secretly tipped the demon army off, so Oscar and the rest had to flee again.

It was then that Naiz finally ran out of mana, and the party was forced to flee into a nearby forest. While they tried to squeeze in as much rest as possible, they spotted a cloud of dust coming toward them. Realizing it was over, Oscar and Naiz prepared themselves for one final stand. It was then that Meiru and the Schnee clansmen swooped down on wyverns and rescued the party.

After all their trials and tribulations, they’d made it to the rendezvous point that Batlam had set up. They’d just barely made it in time, too. Once Oscar and the others were secured, the Schnee took them far to the east.

Meiru had paled when she saw how serious Miledi’s condition was, and she’d quickly cast restoration magic on her. Miledi’s fever had faded and color returned to her face, but only momentarily. Before long, her symptoms returned. Oscar and Meiru had both started to panic, but then one of the Schnee knights had told them he recognized the disease and that it was possible to treat it back at their village. Reassured, but still impatient, Oscar and Meiru finally reached the Obsidian Tundra where the Schnee lived. Oscar had bundled Miledi up in his coat and followed the Schnee deep into the coldest ravine he’d ever visited. Inside the ravine had been a series of frost caverns, which was where the Schnee village was.

The moment they’d arrived, Ruth and the others had come running over. But their smiles had frozen and they’d stopped in their tracks when they’d seen the expression on Oscar’s face. He’d run right past them, yelling, “We need a doctor! Miledi’s—”

“Oscar-kun? Are you okay?”

“Hey, Oscar. Don’t you think you should rest too?”

“Yeah, Onii-chan. You look pale.”

Oscar snapped out of his reminiscing. It wasn’t like him to space out like this. Once Miledi had woken up, he’d been so relieved that the adrenaline left his system and his exhaustion hit him all at once. But while he knew he needed rest, Oscar felt like it was his duty as an older brother to spend at least some time with his siblings. Oscar reached out with his free hand and ruffled Ruth’s hair.

“I saw what happened during your guys’ escape from the Reisen headquarters. You did good, Ruth. You were really cool. I knew I could count on you to take care of everyone.”

“Wh-Why’re you bringing that up all of a sudden...”

Ruth looked down, embarrassed. Oscar then turned to Corrin and patted her head as well.

“You did good too, Corrin. Not just during the escape, either. I know from your letters that you’ve always been looking after Dylan and the others. Thanks.”

“Ehehe...”

Corrin grinned and fidgeted bashfully. Moorin smiled and hugged all of her children.

“You’ve been working hard too, Oscar. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Oscar relaxed inside his family’s warm embrace. But then he noticed that Meiru was looking apologetically at him. After spending a few seconds trying to find the right words she said, “I’m sorry...”

Oscar already knew what she was apologizing for. He smiled awkwardly at her and shook his head. That simple action made his head spin.

Moorin looked down at him and said, “Oscar, get some rest.”

It had been nearly five days since Oscar had gotten any decent sleep. He was at his physical and mental limits.

“Yeah, I will... If Miledi wakes up to find me collapsed next to her, she’ll... Man, I don’t even want to think about how much she’ll tease me.”

Smiling wryly to himself, Oscar once again tried to disentangle his hand from Miledi’s.

“Good. The others want to talk to you too, but I’ll let them know you’re sleeping.”

“Thanks, Meiru.”

Oscar tried to free his hand as he talked, but Miledi simply refused to let go. She also started grumbling again if he pulled too hard. Meiru smirked at him.

“You can’t leave her, Oscar-kun!”

“No, but...”

“Here you go, Onii-chan!”

“Corrin?”

Smiling, Corrin handed Oscar a blanket. It was as if she’d brought it with her because she’d known this would happen.

“Just sleep here with Miledi-oneechan.”

While Oscar realized Corrin’s suggestion was pure and innocent, he couldn’t take it that way.

“No, I mean...” he muttered, trying to refuse. While he wouldn’t be sharing a bed with Miledi, sleeping next to her when they weren’t camping out was a bit improper. At the same time, though, Oscar didn’t know how to explain that to Corrin without corrupting her.

“Oh my, Oscar-kun. Are you worried you might do something unspeakable to her while she’s ill and can’t move?”

“Absolutely not!”

Corrin looked timidly up at Oscar and asked, “Onii-chan, do you do unspeakable things whenever you’re alone with Miledi-oneechan?”

“I don’t!”

“Then here, take this blanket. You need to cover yourself when you sleep.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

Meiru gave Corrin a look that seemed to say “Good job!” Feeling trapped, Oscar turned to Ruth, his only ally... only to find that Ruth wasn’t there. He’d already left.

You’ve grown wise, Ruth... Oscar thought absently to himself. Meanwhile, Meiru and the others beat a hasty retreat as well.

Oscar looked down at Miledi. Her face was still a little red from the fever, but she was sleeping peacefully. Feeling like a moron for being so worried about spending time alone in a room with Miledi, Oscar adjusted his glasses.

“Guess I’ll sleep.”

Oscar wrapped the blanket around himself, leaned back against his chair, and closed his eyes. In seconds, he was asleep.

Miledi opened her eyes again, feeling completely refreshed. She blinked a few times, then muttered, “Huh.”

She sat up and tried to stretch, but then realized one of her hands was connected to something.

“Oh...”

Looking down, she saw Oscar sleeping peacefully at the side of her bed. His face was next to her legs, and his hand was holding hers. A second later, she remembered what she’d done when she last woke up.

“N-Nowaaaaaaaaah!”

Miledi writhed in embarrassment. I can’t believe I asked him to hold my hand! What am I, five!?

She cradled her head with her free hand. A second later, she blushed as she realized the only reason Oscar was sleeping here was because she hadn’t let him go. Gently, she tried to pry her hand free. But this time, it was Oscar who refused to let go.

“O-O-kun, can you please let go?”

Her request was surprisingly polite, but unfortunately for Miledi, Oscar was fast asleep. Naturally, her voice didn’t reach him. At a loss for what to do, Miledi groaned to herself. She calmed down a little when she realized Oscar was deep asleep, though. She had no idea how much time had passed since they left the demon lord’s castle, or what had happened in that time. But judging by the fact that Oscar was sleeping like the dead, she knew that he’d protected her with his life. Before she knew it, she was caressing Oscar’s hair.

“Thanks, O-kun,” she whispered quietly.

Just then—

“My, how adorable.”

“Wow... Miledi-oneechan’s so cute...”

“Miledi-san’s so pure.”

“Sue-nee. This is what you need to use your powers for! You have to write a story about Miledi-oneesan!”

Miledi turned toward the door, her neck creaking like a rusty hinge. There she saw Meiru, Corrin, Susha, and Yunfa all poking their heads into the doorway.

“Nuwaaaaaah!?”

She leaped out of bed, dragging Oscar up with her.

“Wh-What is it!? Are we under attack!?”

The past three days had been so harsh that Oscar had trained himself to get up at a moment’s notice. He quickly put on his glasses and drew his Black Umbrella.

“You’re the one doing the attacking here, O-kun! I can’t believe you’d sneak into my room while I was asleep! You lecherous beast!”

Miledi hugged herself in an exaggerated manner, acting like her usual annoying self. Seeing that Oscar didn’t bother to argue but instead turned to Meiru. Meiru met his gaze. The two of them nodded to each other.

“She’s cured.”

“Indeed she is.”

Miledi turned to them and complained, “Look, I know I’m annoying, but could you at least not measure my health by how annoying I am?”

Oscar opened his mouth to argue but before he could— “Wait, did you hear that annoying tone!? Listen up everyone, Miledi’s cured!”

“You’re right! Our leader’s only ever that annoying when she’s in good spirits!”

“Damn, it’s been ages since I’ve heard her be this annoying!”

“I see she’s amping up her annoyingness to eleven right away!”

Footsteps pounded down the hallway.

“They do respect me... right?” Miledi muttered, tears in her eyes. The door swung open with a bang and Marshal, Mikaela, Shushu, Eve, and Tony all poured into the room.

“Yo, Miledi! Looks like we both made it out alive!”

“Thanks to Meiru-san we didn’t lose anyone except Forest and James.”

“I heard you guys saved Tim too. Apparently Tart didn’t make it, but... thank god you got to him in time, Leader.”

“The hell’s wrong with you, Miledi!? How’d you lose to some shitty demon lord!? I bet it’s because you’re too busy swooning over this guy here, isn’t it?”

Marshal, Mikaela, Tony, and Shushu all congratulated Miledi on her recovery in their own way. Unwilling to wait their turn, everyone else started talking to Miledi all at once. While she realized they’d all been worried about her, Miledi couldn’t deal with this many people all at once. It seemed Miledi was fated to be paraded around like an idol no matter what branch she visited. Just then, Miledi’s savior appeared.

“Stop crowding around her, you morons! She’s still sick!”

A tall, stern-looking woman with a sharp voice walked into the room. Her black and red hair swayed back and forth behind her as she walked up to Miledi.

“Y-You’re...”

“We meet again, Lady Reisen.”

She was the same warrior Miledi and the others had met at the cave, Margaretta. Standing next to her was an old woman with a bent back. She had the same dark skin as Margaretta, but her hair was pale blonde. The old woman wordlessly walked up to Miledi, then checked her pulse, her eyes, and her breathing, then smiled and nodded.

“It looks like you’ve made a full recovery. If our doctor says you’re fine, then you’re definitely fine,” Margaretta said.

“Oh, uhh... Umm, I’m Miledi Reisen. Thank you very much for saving me.”

Miledi bowed her head to the lady. Oscar and the others turned curiously to the old woman. The old woman nodded again, then turned around and walked off.

“Linnel lost her voice long ago. She wasn’t being rude, she just can’t talk.”

“Yeah, but I could tell she was still speaking to me. Her eyes were saying ‘You’re welcome. Take care now.’”

“I see...”

Margaretta was surprised Miledi could so easily read Linnel’s thoughts when she wasn’t even part of the Schnee clan. Her frown, which looked so much like Vandre’s, vanished and she smiled at Miledi.

“There’s a lot we need to discuss and I’m sure you want to talk to your leader as well, but for now you all need to get out of the room.”

Marshal and the others opened their mouths to protest but Margaretta cut them off.

“What, are you guys going to stay and watch while she gets dressed?”

When she said that, everyone stiffened. Indeed Miledi had just gotten up so her hair was still a mess and sweat drenched her clothes. In fact, the room even smelled faintly of sweat.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! Stop sniffing you guys! Get out!”

Marshal and the others started sniffing the air, so Miledi used gravity magic to throw them all out.

Twenty minutes later, Miledi had bathed and dressed so she went to the large living room where everyone was gathered. The first thing she said upon entering was, “Huh!? Why does Meru-nee look so fluffy!?”

She stared at Meiru, shocked. There were probably far more important things that she should have said first, but Miledi couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Meiru, the same girl who’d insisted on wearing her swimsuit wherever she went, was covered from head to toe in a thick fur coat.

“After coming here I’ve discovered that... I’m not very good with the cold.”

“Even though you’re always wearing a swimsuit!?”

“The cold in this tundra penetrates even my temperature-regulating water barrier.”

It seemed until now Meiru had used water magic to stave off the cold so she could continue wearing her swimsuit. At first, she’d refused the coat Margaretta had offered her when they’d arrived at the Obsidian Tundra, but soon enough, Meiru had realized the tundra’s cold was more than she could handle. Grudgingly, she’d eventually given in and taken the coat. The caverns themselves were inhabited by bug monsters that generated heat, so the village was a bit warmer than the surrounding tundra. Houses were especially warm since they had heating. But because Meiru had always regulated the temperature around her with water magic, she was exceedingly weak to the cold. As a result, she only felt comfortable taking the coat off indoors. The room they were currently in was also indoors, but it was less heated than the others. Personally, Miledi wanted to enjoy staring at Meiru for a while longer, but she realized the meeting was waiting on her. She cleared her throat and looked at each and every one of her comrades. Then she beamed and declared, “Alright everyone, good work making it out alive. I knew I could trust you guys to survive!”

Marshal and the others grinned at her. A second later Miledi’s smile vanished and she solemnly closed her eyes.

“Now let’s have a moment of silence for James Sont and Forest Dyron, who fought to the bitter end to protect us.”

The room fell silent and the Liberators closed their eyes. Everyone then opened their eyes at once, in perfect sync. Miledi once again smiled softly at her comrades. It was then that she noticed something.

“Hm? Where’s Dylan-kun and Katy-chan? They’re... not sick, are they?”

At Miledi’s question, Marshal and the others turned to Oscar. Meiru shrunk back, hiding her face in the depths of her hood.

“Huh? Hold on. What’s going on, guys?”

Meru-nee’s got restoration magic, right? She should have been able to fix Dylan-kun and the others, right? Miledi paled as she looked at everyone’s expressions.

“Miledi, it’ll be faster if you see for yourself. Follow me.”

Oscar got up and opened a nearby door. Somewhat relieved by the fact that Oscar was acting calm, Miledi nodded and followed after him. The room Oscar took her to appeared to be the sickroom. There were ten beds lined up against the walls, and all of the people who’d been transformed into soldiers by the church were lying on them. All of them were completely still. Their eyes were open, but seeing nothing. Miledi gasped. In the two beds at the very end were two people who were sitting up.

“Dylan-kun! Katy-chan!”

Miledi recognized them instantly. Because Corrin had taken care of them every day, their hair was made and their clothes were clean. They looked no different than they had when Miledi had first seen them. On top of that, their eyes were open. When they heard their names the two children stirred and turned toward Miledi. But the moment Miledi looked into their eyes she realized something was wrong.

“Dylan-kun? Katy-chan? It’s me, Miledi. Don’t you recognize me?”

Their eyes weren’t empty, and they reacted to voices, but they were nothing like the lively children they’d been.

“Meiru’s restoration magic wasn’t enough.”

“Huh?”

Miledi turned to Oscar in disbelief. Oscar just stood there quietly. Meiru was behind him, looking crestfallen.

“You see, Miledi-chan, my restoration magic did work. Their bodies went back to the same way they were before. But the part my restoration magic couldn’t cure was...”

There was one domain where restoration magic was powerless. The soul. The Artifact the bishop had used to transplant the souls of ancient warriors into Dylan and Katy’s bodies—Ehit’s Eyes—directly interfered with a person’s soul.

“I could try to force it, but it would be like trying to filter ink out of water while blindfolded. Even for someone of my talents, it’d be risky.”

In the worst case, Meiru’s magic could put such a huge burden on Dylan and Katy’s souls that they’d become empty husks.

“I... see.”

Miledi looked down sadly. She knew how badly Oscar had wanted to cure his siblings. Meiru was just as distraught over the fact that she hadn’t been able to live up to everyone’s expectations. Oscar smiled at the two of them.

“Don’t look so down, you two. If anything, we should be glad since we have proof now.”

“Proof of what?”

“Well, now we know for a fact that Dylan and Katy’s souls are still in there somewhere.”

Had their souls been completely overwritten by Ehit’s Eyes, they wouldn’t react when someone called their names. On top of that, they even listened to instructions. While they didn’t seem to exhibit any will of their own, they could at least feed themselves if told to.

“According to Corrin, after they woke up, Katy refused to eat any food that had bitel beans in them.”

Oscar’s smile grew softer. Bitel beans were nutritious, but they were also bitter, and Katy hated the taste. The fact that Katy’s food preferences were the same as before proved that her soul was still alive somewhere inside her.

“Most importantly, though...” Oscar grabbed Dylan’s hand. Surprisingly, Dylan squeezed it back. Likewise, when Ruth, Corrin, or Moorin held their hands they held them back as well. It was like Dylan and Katy were trying to tell everyone they were still here.

“I think— No, I’m certain those two are fighting.”

“Fighting what?”

“The souls of the soldiers stuck inside them. In fact, they might have been fighting long before Meiru used her restoration magic on them.”

“I see... Yeah, you’re probably right. They’re your siblings after all, O-kun.”

“Yeah...”

Oscar turned to Meiru.

“Thank you, Meiru. Because of you, they’re well enough to open their eyes again. I’m grateful, truly.”

“Oscar-kun...”

Ruth and the others thanked her as well, and Meiru smiled awkwardly. But then she realized getting depressed when everyone was genuinely thanking her would be rude to Oscar and the others.

“Sorry, Oscar-kun. But your kind smiles won’t be enough to make me fall for you. I’m not as easy as Miledi-chan.”

“Hey, I’m not easy either!”

Miledi hotly protested against Meiru. But the other Liberators who’d been watching near the entrance all said things like, “Actually she might be kinda easy?” and “That’s one of her good points though,” and “I’d say she’s more dumb than easy.” Miledi shot her comrades a glare.

“Naiz-sama. Sue-nee and I are easy!”

“B-But only for you, Naiz-sama!”

“Shut up, you two.”

Naiz gave Miledi a pleading look, begging her for salvation, but she turned away and pretended not to see anything. His noble sacrifice helped brighten the atmosphere though, and Oscar turned to Meiru with an exasperated look on his face.

“Besides, I made some Artifacts enchanted with restoration magic. So we’ll be able to keep using Meiru’s magic on them regularly even when she’s not here.”

It was then that Miledi noticed Dylan and Katy, as well as the other patients, were all wearing necklaces. The necklaces had coins dangling from them. While they weren’t exceptionally powerful Artifacts, they continually cast a minute amount of restoration magic on the wearer. It was possible the constant application of restoration magic would lead to Dylan and Katy eventually making a full recovery.

“Oh, and we have one other hope too.”

Oscar adjusted his glasses. They flashed momentarily, though that shouldn’t have been possible considering where the room’s light source was. Miledi instantly guessed what he was getting at.

“You’re talking about the Commander of the Holy Templar Knights, Laus Barn, right?”

“He could use magic that affected the soul directly.”

“Next time we see him... I won’t let him escape.”

Oscar’s glasses flashed again. He was definitely making it happen on purpose. Either way, it seemed Oscar had locked on to Laus. Seeing that the conversation had reached a satisfying breakpoint, Margaretta walked up and said, “Are we done here? I’d like to speak with all of you.”

Her serious expression caused everyone to tense up.

“Yeah. There’s a lot I need to talk to you about too.”

Miledi’s joking tone disappeared, and she put on her leader face. Margaretta led the group to a large meeting room. The Liberators naturally congregated to one side while the members of the Schnee clan ended up on the other. The two sides sat down on the carpeted floor. The carpet was made from the wool of a monster that was very good at retaining heat, so the floor was just as warm and comfortable as Miledi’s bed had been.

There were around thirty members of the Schnee clan in total. Some were old, some were children, but all of them bore traits from various races, not just demons. There was also one silver wolf that looked identical to the ones that had saved Ruth and the others standing in the corner.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Margaretta Schnee. I’m the captain of the Schnee clans warriors and acting chief.”

“I’m Miledi Reisen, leader of the Liberators.”

Margaretta nodded and brought Miledi up to speed on what had happened while she was asleep. Oscar provided details as well, telling Miledi what had happened during their journey here.

“Now then, I’m not very good with pleasantries. We don’t have the time for them anyway.”

Once the status report was done, Margaretta moved right into the main topic.

“You’ve probably noticed, but most of us were once test subjects. We were saved by Van-sama and our clan name comes from his mother, Sasrika-sama’s, clan name. In other words, though we are all one clan, none of us share the same blood. Margaretta looked into Miledi’s eyes, then bowed her head.

“Please, O leader of the Liberators. Aid us in rescuing our brethren and our clan chief. And if at all possible, please take us under your protection.”

Margaretta bowed so low that her head was scraping against the ground. The other Schnee clan members all bowed to Miledi as well. This was the only option left for them. They couldn’t afford to abandon Vandre or the other test subjects, and if they did succeed in rescuing them they’d be hunted by the demon lord for the rest of their days. They were too valuable for him to let go.

By themselves, they lacked the strength to fight Rasul. No other country would take them in either. After all, harboring the Schnee clan meant making an enemy out of the demon lord. And naturally, no human country would take them. Either they waited to be executed, or they acted now.

And right now the only allies they could turn to was the organization that opposed the world. While the Liberators had been defeated by Rasul once before, they still had four ancient magic users. Most importantly though, the Liberators were trustworthy. Of course, Margaretta knew she was clutching at straws. She was asking for far more than was reasonable. And yet, Miledi just smiled and said, “Sure, we can do that!”

Margaretta was floored. She’s agreeing just like that? She looked completely flabbergasted.

“See, what’d I tell you?” Marshal turned to Margaretta. While Miledi had been asleep, Marshal had talked to Margaretta as the Liberators’ representative and told her, “Our leader’ll agree to your request for sure.”

“B-But you saw firsthand just how powerful the demon lord is! And we even... used your comrades as hostages...”

“Van-chan already told us all about that. It’s fine.”

Miledi knelt down in front of Margaretta and lifted the demon’s face up.

“We’re Liberators. It’s our mission to liberate people from the shackles of an unfair and tragic fate.”

But there was something even more important than that.

“Besides, Van-chan’s already one of our comrades.”

Miledi wouldn’t let him escape her now. Even if Vandre and the Schnee clan turned their backs on her, she’d still save them. And she’d keep hounding them until they became her comrades. Just like she had with Oscar and the others. There was no way Miledi was going to just slink away after the demon lord had trounced her and she’d been saved by the guy she’d come to save. Her regret at being unable to save Vandre was still burning as fiercely as ever.

“I’d be happy if you volunteered to fight with us. But you don’t have to fight if you don’t want to. I... No, we’ll protect you all the same.”

There was no hesitation in Miledi’s voice. Oscar and the others all nodded resolutely as well. Margaretta and the others stared at the Liberators in awe. Miledi took a step back and smiled fearlessly at the Schnee clan. She gave them all a big thumbs-up and said, “Sure maybe we made a tiiiiiny miscalculation last time! But this time we’ll prove to you guys that this demon lord’s no match for us! We’ll beat the shit out of him and save everyone! This beautiful genius here is the strongest mage in the world!”

Margaretta and the others squinted as they looked up at Miledi. She was as bright as the sun. A second later, Margaretta lowered her head again. It was hard to tell if she was grateful, or feeling something else entirely.

“Y-You don’t have to bow to me!” Miledi said hurriedly and tried to lift Margaretta’s head up.

“We’re sorry about her. Our leader always goes on about how she wants people to respect her and stuff, but when people actually show her respect, she starts freaking out. So you can just treat her like dirt, it’ll be fine.”

“Hey, Oscar. You trying to pick a fight?”

Miledi glared at Oscar. Seeing that, Margaretta and the others exchanged glances, then smiled wryly at each other. All of the Liberators had similar expressions as well. As everyone bonded over their shared understanding of Miledi, she loudly cleared her throat.

“There’s one thing I need you to tell me though.”

“What is it? If it’s something we can answer, we will.”

There were actually a number of things Miledi wanted to know but she started by asking the thing that was bothering her the most.

“Van-chan said that he hadn’t given up on his brother. What did that mean?”

“I... see. So you still believe in Rasul-sama, Van-sama...”

Margaretta looked momentarily surprised, but then she nodded in understanding.

“What exactly happened between those two?”

“It’s a long story.”

With that forewarning, Margaretta launched into the story of Vandre’s birth. In truth, it was Rasul and Vandre’s father—the previous demon lord—who’d begun experimenting on demons in an attempt to create soldiers capable of opposing the church. No one knew what had given the demon lord that idea. Naturally, the previous demon lord had quickly run into multiple roadblocks, but he fervently continued his research like a man possessed. But even as the sacrifices mounted, he was unable to make any progress. But then, one day something changed. He managed to capture a dragonman. Specifically, the ice dragon who was Vandre’s mother, Sasrika Schnee. Dragonmen were even rarer than vampires, so it was only natural that Sasrika ended up catching his fancy. Eventually, a child was born between him and her.

“And that child was Van-sama.”

“I see. So Van-chan could transform because his mom was a dragonwoman.”

“I heard the story from Naiz-dono, but I never imagined he would really be able to transform.”

Margaretta looked both sad and happy at the same time. Miledi gave her a puzzled look. Margaretta continued her story, as the answer to Miledi’s question lay there.

“The previous demon lord’s experiments started slowing down as he realized his attempts were getting nowhere. Though from the start it would have been impossible for him. Since he was trying to make mixed-race demons not through breeding, but by transplanting the magic and traits of various races onto others.”

It was common knowledge that mixed-race children exhibited traits from both of their parents. But the previous demon lord hadn’t wanted to wait for children to grow up. He’d wanted a way to create battle-ready soldiers quickly. Which was why when Vandre had discovered his metamorphosis magic at the age of six, the previous demon lord saw his chance.

“Van-sama was born within the dungeons along with us, and that was where he spent his early years. But once his magic appeared, he was allowed to live in the palace. Of course, he wasn’t treated like royalty. Because of his mixed blood he was shunned and treated more like a servant than anything. However, it was still a better life than living in the dungeons.”

At the same time, the previous demon lord canceled his human experiments and started focusing on building a massive monster army. Vandre had begged his father to free his mother as well as Margaretta and the other test subjects, and let them live normal lives. That had been his condition for creating the monster army the previous demon lord had wanted. The previous demon lord agreed, believing it would be easier to control Vandre that way.

“Thanks to Van-sama’s benevolence, we were granted a temporary reprieve.”

Sasrika and the test subjects were given a mansion a short distance from the palace, which was where Vandre lived as well. To the public, it seemed like everyone was Vandre’s servants, but in truth, they lived like a family. However, those peaceful times didn’t last. Once Vandre had built up a sufficiently large army for the previous demon lord, he launched an invasion against the humans. After a long and bloody struggle, the war had ended in a stalemate. While the monster army had been effective, it hadn’t been enough. Furthermore, it had been wiped out in the conflict. That had led the previous demon lord to conclude that Vandre alone wasn’t enough. Growing greedy, he broke his promise to Vandre and raped Sasrika, hoping to produce more children capable of using metamorphosis magic.

“When Van-sama learned what had happened, he went berserk.”

“Makes sense...”

The amount of pressure Vandre had been constantly under, coupled with the fact that his mother had just been assaulted, was just too much for him.

“It was then that he awoke to his other power... draconification.”

Vandre completely lost himself in anger and went on a horrific rampage. Because he was still young, he lacked the power to actually defeat the previous demon lord. However, Vandre injured him gravely enough that the old demon lord decided to execute Vandre for this affront.

“Huh? But... Oh, so that means...”

Obviously, Vandre was still alive. Meaning someone else had been punished for his crime. When she realized the truth, Miledi looked down forlornly. Oscar and Naiz bit their lips worriedly. Finding their sympathy endearing, Margaretta smiled sadly.

“It’s as you’ve guessed. Sasrika-sama transformed in order to protect Van-sama. Ironically, that was what it took to bring Van-sama back to his senses.”

Though Sasrika had had multiple seals placed on her, she’d given her life to transform and protect her son. Bleeding from all over, she’d nevertheless squeezed out the last of her strength to fire her breath at the previous demon lord. Margaretta and the others had been present during that fight, and the scene of Sasrika protecting Vandre was still seared into all of their memories.

“Mom! Mooom! It’s all my fault!”

After his mom had died, Vandre had held her and cried for hours. Ever since then, Vandre had been unable to transform. Any time he tried he would become dizzy and feel like vomiting. If he pushed himself, he’d just lose consciousness. His mother’s death had traumatized him. When Margaretta and the other Schnee clansmen had learned that Vandre had forced himself to transform to let Miledi and the others escape, they’d thought back to Sasrika’s death. While they knew it must have pained him to transform, they were proud that he’d managed to overcome his trauma and inherit his mother’s strength.

“Having lost Sasrika-sama, Van-sama was like an empty shell. The demon lord decided to let him live because he realized controlling Van-sama in this state would be easy. Of course, we tried to support him, but...”

Vandre’s wounds had been too deep. To this day, Margaretta and the others regretted being unable to help Vandre when he needed them most. It vexed them that they’d been incapable of healing a single boy’s broken heart. In the end, it was someone else who ended up being Vandre’s, as well as the whole Schnee Clan’s, pillar of support.

“In the palace, there was only one person who was kind to Van-sama.”

“Was it the current demon lord, Rasul?”

“Correct. Unlike his father... Rasul was a kind man.”

Rasul had been wise, and excelled in both swordplay and his studies. He was always working for the good of his people and was the ideal prince. He’d always treated Vandre like a true brother, even though they had different mothers, and he’d openly wept when he’d heard news of Sasrika’s death. The previous demon lord had hated him. Especially since Rasul was constantly arguing that they should try and make peace with the humans. No one was more of a pacifist than him. Vandre had always respected Rasul, and in time, Rasul’s kindness helped Vandre recover from the death of his mother. Everyone believed the bond between the two siblings was unbreakable. In truth, Rasul loved Vandre so much, that he usurped the throne from his father, who hadn’t intended on abdicating for another forty years, because he was tired of watching Vandre get used and abused by the demon lord.

“That’s nothing like how he acts now.”

“What happened to him?”

“Yeah, he’s just going down the same path his father was now.”

Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz all thought back to the Rasul they’d met.

“That’s something we don’t know either. We all thought Rasul’s rule would be one of peace and prosperity. All of us, including Van-sama, believed that he’d lead us to a glorious future.”

But the day after his coronation ceremony, Rasul suddenly changed. He began stockpiling weapons and resumed the experiments his father had stopped. When Vandre, his precious brother, asked him why, Rasul said he’d just been using him all along. When Vandre had broken down in tears, Rasul had just sneered and sent him to the dungeons. Fearing for the safety of the test subjects, Vandre had broken them out, and escaped all the way to the Obsidian Tundra. There, he’d spent a few years living in hiding. But the Schnee clan that he founded couldn’t escape Rasul’s clutches forever. Because of the tundra’s climate, the village was unable to sustain itself. Vandre’s familiars were able to hunt down meat for the villagers, and he often flew to the mountains on his wyvern to gather fruits and vegetables. But it was exceedingly difficult to procure spices, or clothes, or building materials for shelters. Which was why Vandre had regularly snuck into nearby villages to buy any necessary goods. During one of those trips, Vandre noticed there were posters all over the village. They were detailing the new policies the demon lord was putting into place. However, built into them was a subtle message to Vandre and the others. Rasul was gathering more test subjects for his experiments. And that he’d only stop if Vandre turned himself in. It was a declaration that Rasul would find him, no matter what it took.

“It’s possible Van-sama still believed in his brother. Perhaps there was something that was forcing Rasul-sama to take such drastic measures.”

So Vandre had ignored the warnings of his clansmen and headed back to the demon lord’s castle. His plan had been to convince Rasul to stop. He wasn’t the same weak kid he’d been. He’d grown much stronger. So he was confident that even if he failed, he’d at least be able to free the test subjects from Rasul and escape. But he’d made one miscalculation. Rasul had grown stronger as well. Far stronger than Vandre had thought possible. Rasul hadn’t just collected a bunch of new Artifacts. His mana pool had expanded in size as well, and his magical proficiency was much greater than before.

“But Van-sama had left insurance behind: Batlam. Through Batlam, he was able to communicate with us, as well as spy on Rasul-sama. That was how he found out that Rasul-sama had discovered your organization and was planning on kidnapping your comrades. So we started our own investigations as well.”

From there, they’d scouted out the Reisen headquarters. Their plan had been to make contact and ask for the Liberators’ help in saving Vandre, but Rasul’s chimeras had gotten there first. After finishing up her tale, Margaretta sighed tiredly. Miledi took a deep breath and started sorting out her emotions. Both sides remained silent for a few minutes, until Miledi finally spoke.

“I understand now. Thank you for telling me this.”

She then added, “But that demon lord pisses me off, so I’m still gonna beat the shit out of him!”

Then why’d you ask about him? However, Miledi’s smile was so overpowering, all Margaretta could say in response was, “I-I see,” her expression stiffening. Miledi harrumphed and said, “That pretty boy needs to be taught a lesson. I’m gonna show him who’s the strongest once and for all! Bwahahaha!”

Miledi was starting to sound more like a demon lord and less like a heroine.

“We did promise we’d come back for Vandre.”

“Yeah. It irks me that the demon lord thinks he can stop me just by sealing my spatial magic.”

Oscar and Naiz were ready to fight. Crafty as always, Oscar quickly began suggesting new Artifact ideas to use against the demon lord. Like Miledi, he had an evil grin on his face.

“This man needs to pay for tormenting my cute little Miledi-chan.”

Meiru’s voice was filled with a surprising amount of vehemence. Though she was smiling gently like usual, her eyes were as hard as steel. She was resolved to protect her comrades this time around.

“In that case, we’ll leave the demon lord to you guys while we go save everyone,” Marshal said.

“I’m gonna kill those cloaked bastards this time!”

“Don’t do that. They’re victims too, remember? By the way, Oscar-san, can I ask for some new Artifacts?”

At Marshal’s suggestion, Shushu slammed a fist into her palm while Tony smiled fearlessly. The other members of the Reisen branch all stood up and declared their intent to fight as well. No matter what obstacles stood in their path, the Liberators would keep moving forward. When the Schnee clansmen saw the Liberators’ determination, they got fired up to fight as well. Amidst the battle cries of both the Schnee and the Liberators, the strategy meeting for how to rescue Vandre began. Tears of joy welled up in Margaretta’s eyes as she watched the Schnee and the Liberators link arms and become comrades in truth.

“What’s wrong, Ma-chan?”

“M-Ma-chan? Are you talking to me?”

Margaretta turned to Miledi, who’d come to stand next to her.

“Yeah, it’s a cute nickname right?” Miledi replied, smiling mischievously. She grabbed Margaretta’s hand and said, “Come on, you’ve gotta join the meeting too. You’re everyone’s captain, aren’t you?”

“Yeah... You’re right.”

Margaretta joined the others, looking surprisingly happy for someone who was about to head into a battle that would decide the fate of her people. It was almost like she was certain she’d be able to win the future she desired.

“That is all I have to report. You have my deepest apologies, Your Majesty.”

A bitter voice echoed through the demon lord’s castle. The voice belonged to a sharp-eyed old demon, the prime minister of Igdol, Karm Tranlit. After the incident in the laboratory, Rasul had issued a nationwide search for Miledi and the others. But the last time anyone had seen them was three days ago, and it was now day six of the search. Karm had just finished telling Rasul about how they’d lost Miledi’s group.

“Well, I imagine they were able to meet up with the Schnee clan. I honestly wonder where their village is hidden...”

Seeing Rasul’s smile, Karm inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he’d managed to avoid displeasing the demon lord. Still, it frustrated him that he couldn’t complete the task his lord had assigned him. Just then, someone else butted into the conversation.

“Your Majesty, don’t you think you’ve had enough fun?”

A well-built demon man with short red hair stepped forward. He looked to be in his late thirties, and there were deep wrinkles in his forehead.

“Forgive me, Angol. But we’ve found not only Lady Reisen, but two other ancient magic users. Surely you can see why I’m in high spirits?”

“But in the end, they managed to escape.”

Angol Mittlight was one of Igdol’s top three generals. When it came to pure destructive might, no one was as strong as him.

“Are you questioning Rasul-sama’s decision?”

Another one of Igdol’s top three generals and the only woman among them, Lestina Ascion, glared daggers at Angol. Angol gave her an exasperated look and replied, “It is our job as His Majesty’s retainers to give him candid advice, not blindly follow him. If you have nothing to add, be quiet.”

“I’ll burn you to a crisp, you brute.”

“Stop it, you two. You’re in the presence of the demon lord.”

The third and final general, Elga Insut, admonished the other two.

“Now now, calm down everyone. Van’s still with us, so they’ll come back eventually. We just have to capture them when they do. Isn’t that right?”

Knowing that arguing any further would be disrespectful, the three generals simultaneously bowed to Rasul. However, Karm couldn’t help but want to get one last word in.

“Your Majesty. I know I’ve said this many times already, but please stop referring to that mongrel by such a familiar nickname.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Though Rasul said that every time, he never changed how he called Vandre. Of course, Rasul believed that demons were the superior race. Furthermore, he also believed in keeping the demon race pure. Vandre was nothing more than a test subject and a convenient source of firepower for Rasul. But that was precisely why Karm and the others couldn’t understand why Rasul refused to stop referring to Vandre by his nickname. Of course, the demon lord was the avatar of their god. He was someone revered by all demons. So Karm had no choice but to accept that Rasul had his reasons.

“Now then, if that’s all you have to report, I’ll be leaving. You three should prepare for battle.”

“As you wish. But where are you going?”

Rasul turned to Karm and answered, “To see my precious little brother.”

Smiling pleasantly, Rasul left the room.

Rasul’s footsteps echoed across the walls as he headed to an isolated dungeon chamber. Originally, this room, which was about the same size as Rasul’s research laboratory, was meant to hold important members of enemy states. The chamber was large enough to house multiple prisoners, but right now, there was only one. Rasul stopped in front of the one occupied cell and said cheerfully, “Yo, Van. How’re you feeling?”

“......”

Naturally, the lone prisoner tied down with chains of sealstone was Vandre. He was still covered in wounds from his previous transformation. Transforming into a dragon while sealed had been akin to a child bound by thorns suddenly growing to the size of an adult. The seals had bitten deep into Vandre’s body, and he was gravely injured. Furthermore, to prevent Vandre from trying to escape again, Rasul had cut the tendons in his legs and broken his arms. However, the fire in Vandre’s eyes was still burning as strong as ever. He glared at Rasul.

“Was executing a few people not enough to cow you?”

In retribution for Vandre’s attempted escape, Rasul had executed a few prisoners in front of Vandre and the remaining test subjects. He’d wanted to show them that there was no hope of escape from the demon lord.

“Why?” Vandre muttered quietly. Rasul cocked his head and Vandre raised his voice.

“Why did things come to this? What happened to you?”

Rasul stared blankly at Vandre for a moment, then sneered.

“Do you truly still believe in me? Or is it just that hard for you to accept reality?”

Rasul looked pityingly down at Vandre and said, “That was all an act, Van.”

“......”

“I told you on the day of my coronation ceremony. The kind brother you looked up to never existed. Who in their right mind would consider a half-breed like you their family?”

At best, Rasul had seen Vandre as a cute, loyal little pet. Rasul sneered again.

“Everything you believed in was an illusion.”

Those peaceful days Vandre had spent with his mother and his clansmen had been nothing more than a pleasant fantasy. In truth, his bond with Rasul had been a lie and there was no future for him or his clan.

“That’s not possible.”

Vandre glared at Rasul, determined to face the cold reality staring down at him head-on. In an attempt to bring the old, kind Rasul back, Vandre said, “Brother, if everything was truly a lie, why do you still braid your hair?”

“What?”

Rasul hadn’t expected that question. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, and he unconsciously reached for the one part of his hair he always braided.

“Just braiding that tiny section of hair... isn’t very becoming for a demon lord, is it?”

“......”

Vandre’s hair was braided the same way, though his braids were about to come undone. Honestly, Rasul always felt as though the half-braid didn’t suit him. But despite that, he went through the effort of braiding his hair every single day.

“You’re the one who gave me this braid. Even though you were the crown prince, you loved playing pranks and making people laugh.”

One day when Vandre had been asleep, Rasul had snuck into his room and braided his hair like this. He also used oil and wire to make sure Vandre couldn’t undo the braid when he woke up either. Vandre got so mad when he found out that he stopped speaking to Rasul. So, Rasul had done the same braid to his own hair and said, “See, Van? Now we match. We’ll make this the new fad in Igdol. That way it won’t be embarrassing, right?”

Ever since, the two brothers had continued braiding just one section of their hair. At the time, Vandre had been too embarrassed to say it, but today he knew it needed to be said.

“I always thought our braids were like a symbol of our bond. So, brother. How come you still keep tying that braid if everything was a lie?”

“I see...”

Smiling faintly, Rasul brought his hand up to the base of his braid and sliced it off. He was severing all bonds with Vandre. Vandre’s eyes widened in surprise, and Rasul chuckled.

“I was just doing it out of habit. I never imagined something this silly would give you hope.”

“Bro...ther...”

Vandre hung his head and ground his teeth. Enjoying his brother’s anguish, Rasul said cheerfully, “You know, Lady Reisen will be coming back here.”

“Ngh.”

Vandre thought back to that girl who’d shone brighter than the sun. She’d swore she’d save Vandre. And for some reason, Vandre had believed her. But now, he didn’t even know if it was possible for him to be saved.

“Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Looking forward to what?”

“The moment where I teach that self-righteous little girl the harsh reality of the world.”

“What do you plan on doing to her?”

“Hehehe. I like that look in your eyes, Van. Seems like you found something else to believe in. I can’t wait to teach you how misplaced your faith is once again.”

“I asked you what you plan on doing to her.”

“Well... let me give you a hint. What kind of expression do you think that straightforward girl will make when she finds out she’s just started a war?” Rasul sneered, and in that moment, Vandre was forced to acknowledge that he wasn’t looking at the old, kind Rasul anymore. The demon lord’s expression was just that disgusting. Somewhere deep in his heart, Vandre had wanted to believe that there was some reason Rasul had been forced to change so drastically. And watching Miledi keep fighting to the bitter end had given him the courage to entertain that hope. He’d believed he could discover his brother’s true intentions and bring him back to normal. But seeing Rasul’s ugly sneer had convinced him.

“You’re not my brother.”

“That’s right. Looks like you finally decided to accept reality, Van. Congratulations.”

Rasul turned on his heel. He’d had his fun; it was time to leave. As he walked out of the dungeon, he said without turning back, “You’ll be back to work tomorrow. I want another monster army. Once I destroy the church, Dastia’s next.”

“What!? Don’t tell me you plan on killing all the vampires!?”

“The southern continent has no need for races other than demons. Besides, I need more test subjects. This is a good chance to take out two birds with one stone. You better work hard, Van. Your precious comrades’ lives are depending on you doing a good job.”

“Rasul, how far will you fall!?”

Vandre’s shout echoed through the walls, but the only reply he received was the sound of the heavy dungeon door closing shut. It felt as though his future had just been closed shut as well. Vandre sat in the darkness for ages, agonizing. Eventually, he lost track of the passage of time, and he started reminiscing about his mother. Even though he was a child Sasrika had never asked for, she’d loved him all the same. As far as he could remember, she’d always been gentle and wise. Around the time Vandre had grown old enough to realize it was strange for someone to be born and raised in a dungeon, he’d asked his mom, “Mom, don’t you hate this?”

By this, he’d meant everything. The previous demon lord, her circumstances, and even Vandre himself. Considering how much she’d suffered, it wouldn’t have been strange for Sasrika to curse everything and everyone. But to his surprise, his mother had said, “A dragon’s fangs exist to shred through one’s own weakness. A dragon’s eyes exist to see the truth. And a dragon’s talons exist to tear through evil. The blade of reason is the only weapon a dragon needs.” That was the wisdom that had been passed down through generations of dragonmen. Though she’d been in a dingy dungeon, Sasrika had looked so dignified when she’d taught Vandre those precepts. It was at that moment that Vandre had discovered what true nobility was. However, putting Sasrika’s precepts into practice was easier said than done. Indeed, Vandre hadn’t been able to control his emotions and gone berserk when he saw what the previous demon lord had done to his mom. But as a result of that, he lost her. The wounds the event had left in his heart were still bleeding.

“Live for the sake of others, so that others will want to live for your sake.”

Those were the words Sasrika had imparted to Vandre just before she died.

“Mom... I tried to live like that,” Vandre muttered softly, his voice despondent. He no longer knew what to do.

“But I think...”

It was because Vandre existed that the previous demon lord had been able to raise an army to invade. It was because he existed that so many people had been sacrificed to make chimeras. And it was because he existed that another war would begin.

“Should I... really be trying to live?”

If he died, his clansmen would give up on rescuing him. Rasul might continue his experiments, but he’d eventually realize producing results without Vandre was impossible and give up.

“Mom...”

Feeling utterly defeated, Vandre voiced the one thought he swore never to entertain.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been born after all...”

The moment he said that a voice replied, “Don’t be stupid.”

A second later, a burst of light suddenly appeared on the wall next to him. Vandre was speechless. The light was pure gold, like the warm light of the sun. Sparks ran along the length of the wall, and then a hole appeared where the light had been. A familiar face poked its head through.

“F-Four-eyes!”

“Sup, muffler-man.”

Oscar adjusted his glasses and muttered, “Tch, I forgot the real you had your muffler stolen away.”

After a brief moment of shock, Vandre returned to his senses and shouted, “Forget about me! Save my comrades and get out of here!”

“Why, is this a trap? Well, it doesn’t really matter even if it is.”

“I’m being serious here.”

“Yeah, well so am I.”

Oscar grabbed Vandre by the collar and lifted him up.

“What the hell is this crap about how you shouldn’t have been born at all, huh!? I don’t ever wanna hear that shit from you again! Next time you say that I’ll choke you to death with your own muffler!”

Oscar’s words were all over the place. But the anger in his eyes was crystal clear. When he realized that Oscar was getting angry for his sake, Vandre suddenly wanted to cry. But he held back his tears. Oscar was the one guy Vandre refused to cry in front of.

“But even if you save me, the demon lord will just gather more test subjects... I can’t escape from him. The same thing will just happen aga—”

“Shut the fuck up. It’s too late to stop anyway.”

“What?”

Suddenly, the entire castle shook as a massive impact hit it.

“Don’t tell me...”

“Carve this fact into your mind. Our leader always likes to make a flashy entrance.”

Miledi was no doubt announcing her entrance to the demon lord up above. Vandre opened his mouth to argue further, but then stopped when he sensed something coming their way.

“Ability ten, Hallowed Ground.”

A second after Oscar deployed his barrier, a fireball hot enough to melt the cell’s bars hit the two of them. Had Oscar not blocked it, both he and Vandre would have been severely burned. As the flames faded away, Oscar saw a silhouette at the end of the corridor.

“I see a mongrel’s howls travel far.”

Lestina walked into the corridor, sneering as if to imply Oscar was some stray dog that had been lured in by Vandre’s screams. There were two swords at her hip. She snapped her fingers, and gray-robed chimeras started appearing out of the shadows. There were close to fifty of them. Another group of fifty elite demon soldiers appeared on the other side of the corridor as well, trapping Oscar and Vandre. Though there were no black-robed chimeras it was still 100 against one. And one of those 100 was one of the top three generals in the country.

“Oscar, you—”

“Don’t worry. There’s already another squad rescuing the test subjects.”

Oscar’s purposely obtuse answer irked Vandre.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say! There’s no point in saving me! Just run!”

Of course, Oscar was no fool. He wore glasses for a reason, after all. Oscar quickly transmuted the shackles off of Vandre, then tapped his chest. Batlam poked his small head out of Oscar’s coat. Vandre’s eyes widened. He was equal parts surprised and overjoyed. Batlam transformed into a muffler and wrapped himself around his master to support him.

“God, you turned into such a wimp over these past few days. Listen up. Close your mouth, plug your ears, and keep your eyes shut.”

“Oscar!”

Oscar turned his back to Vandre and stepped out of the cell, facing his enemies head-on.

“Oh, you’re not going to run?”

Lestina’s smile grew wider. She looked over at the wall Oscar had transmuted his way through.

“You sure you shouldn’t be by the demon lord’s side?”

Lestina snorted dismissively.

“Rasul-sama’s victory is assured, regardless of whether I’m there or not.”

“I see. Glad to hear it. Can’t have you going to save your precious demon lord.”

“You bastard... You couldn’t even touch Rasul-sama before, so what makes you think it’ll be any different this time?”

Oscar shrugged his shoulders. He twirled his umbrella in one hand and adjusted his glasses with the other. He gave Lestina a carefree smile.

“If you think you’ve already got us figured out then why not try me? Bring it on. I’ll beat all of you to a bloody pulp.”

Oscar gave Lestina the middle finger, and she screamed, “I’ll burn you to ashes!”

Her demon soldiers all began casting. They barely needed any incantation before they were able to summon a barrage of flame javelins to hurl at Oscar. Fifty spears of fire plus Lestina’s extremely large lance of pale blue flames shot at Oscar. Lestina’s lance looked more like a compressed Azure Blaze than a regular Crimson Javelin. In fact, its flames were so hot it had probably surpassed the level of an Azure Blaze even. If Oscar took that head-on, he would almost certainly end up as nothing but ashes. It was unlikely even his Hallowed Ground could stop it. But Oscar didn’t look worried in the slightest. As the barrage of flames headed toward him, the ring on his finger glinted. A second later, six black tower shields appeared in front of him.

“Fool! The heat wave will kill you anyway!”

Lestina grinned triumphantly. But a second later, her demon soldiers screamed in pain.

“What!? You countered everything!? No, you reflected our spells back at us!?”

Lestina and her demons’ magic had indeed hit the lower three floating shields protecting Oscar. But a moment later those spells had shot back out of the remaining three shields floating above the first three. Right back at the demons. These were one of Oscar’s new artifacts, the Onyx Shields. They were of course quite sturdy, but more importantly, they had spatial magic portals affixed to their surfaces. Spells that hit one shield were shot back out of the corresponding portal on the other. In some ways, this was the strongest defensive artifact Oscar had ever made. He’d needed a way to both defend against a large number of enemies while also counterattacking, so he’d developed these while resting in the Schnee village.

“Ding ding ding. What was it you said? The heat wave will kill me anyway?”

Oscar’s cheery voice echoed through the corridor. He’d deployed his umbrella’s Hallowed Ground to protect him from any residual heat. Lestina couldn’t stand his relaxed attitude, and it pissed her off even more that he’d managed to take out 40% of her forces in an instant. Seething, her entire body started glowing red-hot.

“Oh, is that your special magic?”

“It’s called Inflame, Oscar Orcus. And it’ll melt even your bones!”

Lestina drew her swords and charged at Oscar. The flames around her were so hot they’d burned away her clothes. She looked like a person made of magma. Her swords were likely some manner of artifact, since they didn’t melt in her hands. Instead, her magmafication spread to them as well, turning them into blades of heat. While Lestina charged, the gray-robed chimeras split up and attacked Oscar from all sides. Oscar raised a gloved hand and said, “Omnidirectional thread barrier, activate.”

Blood suddenly splurted from the chimeras that had leaped at him from behind and from the sides. They’d been cut by Oscar’s new and improved metal wires. These were so fine that you had to strain your eyes to even see them. He’d used them in conjunction with his regular, more visible wires to lead the chimeras into a trap and chop off their legs. Even if they felt no pain and regenerated unbelievably quickly, they couldn’t do anything without feet. He then fired small, Lightning Field-enchanted daggers at each of them, binding them with electricity. He figured their own regenerative abilities would stop the bleeding and keep them from dying. Meiru could restore their legs later, so he didn’t feel bad about mutilating them. The remaining demon soldiers faltered when they saw how easily Oscar had taken out the demon lord’s supersoldiers.

“Your petty tricks won’t stop me!”

Lestina didn’t stop charging, however, and her superheated body easily cut through Oscar’s wires. Once she was close enough, she swung her burning red swords down at him.

“Wha—”

But the sleeves of Oscar’s coat wrapped themselves around her swords and held them in place. To Lestina’s utter surprise, Oscar’s coat neither melted nor even caught fire. It just glowed faintly as it pushed her swords back. He’d added a new feature to his Ebony Coat— Diamond Skin. Back in the Schnee village, Oscar had upgraded his coat with Marshal’s help.

“Yikes, that’s hot. Can’t say I want you hugging me.”

Still too shocked to react, Lestina could only watch as Oscar held up his gloved palm in front of her. He was far enough away that he wasn’t touching her, but a second later Lestina’s vision went dark.

“Ah!?”

As she flew backward, she realized she’d passed out for a moment. Lestina glared at Oscar as she crashed into the ground.

“You bastard, that power belongs to—”

Oscar had also upgraded his Sable Glove by adding the mana shockwave skill Rasul had used to it.

“We’ve got someone who can convert mana into shockwaves too. That skill looked like it was pretty handy, so I copied it. Though my helper was quite... repulsed by the fact that she shares a skill with the demon lord.”

While Oscar was talking, the demon soldiers reformed themselves and hurled magic at him again. A torrent of fire, ice, wind, and lightning came down on Oscar.

“Man, you guys are annoying. Can’t you just be quiet for a bit?”

Oscar reflected their spells with his Onyx Shields and accessed his Treasure Trove again. When the demons saw what he’d summoned this time, they paled. Oscar had brought a golem. It was black, four meters tall, and had a sword in each of its hands. That by itself wasn’t too surprising, but the speed at which it moved was unbelievable. When the demons saw it charging at them they muttered, “I-It’s a monster...”

They blasted the golem with fire, wind, earth and ice blasts, but twenty new arms sprouted from various points on its body and it cut all of the magic down with the swords equipped in each arm. It crashed into the clump of demons, sending some of them flying. Once it was inside their formation it sprouted an extra hundred arms and knocked all the demons out with the flat of its blades. This was a new Shadow Knight Oscar had developed, the Hundred Arm Asura.

Its head was covered by a fierce-looking helmet and there were several circular openings on its back, which was where its arms stretched out from. Oscar had come up with the idea for it when he’d realized there was no need to stick to convention and make only human-shaped golems. As a result, he’d been able to create a demon of war, equipped with 100 different enchanted, artifact-level swords.

“I guess I should be careful not to kill your demon warriors. If you lose too many troops the church will try to invade and then there’ll be casualties among civilians.”

“D-Don’t fuck with meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Oscar ignored Lestina’s rage. He dodged the few chimeras who’d escaped his threads and managed to circle around behind him, then activated his umbrella’s Wall Blast and swung it at them. His umbrella crushed both of their legs and they flew backward like pinballs. Lestina finally managed to recover enough to get to her feet, but before she could charge again, two regular Shadow Knights blocked her path.

“That special magic of yours is pretty powerful, but how long can it last?”

It took a large amount of mana to superheat one’s body to this point. So long as Oscar fended her off with his knights, she’d eventually run out of mana and collapse.

“You bastard! Fight me like a man!”

“No thanks. I don’t like pushy women.”

Because Oscar was using most of his concentration to control his Hundred Arm Asura, his knights were lacking in finesse. Still, it wasn’t hard to block Lestina’s attacks since she’d become so impatient. Oscar pretty much ignored Lestina while he mopped up the remnants of the demon soldiers and the chimeras. Oscar lacked the kind of explosive destructive power Miledi and Naiz possessed. But this right here was the reason his comrades considered him the scariest ancient magic user; he was extremely versatile. He had no weak points, and once he knew what his opponent’s skills were, he could devise countermeasures.

“Vandre.”

“O-Oscar...”

Was he always this strong? Vandre thought, overawed by the show Oscar had just put on.

“I won’t make any excuses for losing last time and failing to rescue you. We’re partly to blame for your current despair.”

Oscar used a barrage of enchanted daggers to keep the remaining chimeras at bay. Two managed to slip through and attack him from two sides, but he casually dodged as if he’d seen it coming. As he leaped aside, he dropped an exploding sword on the floor, blowing the two chimeras away. Several Metamorph Chains and superfine threads shot out from the center of the explosion as well, cutting off the legs of a few more chimeras. Once the threads rendered the chimeras immobile, Oscar sent electric shocks through his chains to restrain them. After the shocks knocked the chimeras out, he threw them at other enemies who were still conscious. As soon as they hit someone else, Oscar unfurled his umbrella and detached the canopy. As it flew into the center of the corridor, he sent a blast of electricity running through it and down the spiderweb of superfine threads that he’d set up. Because he didn’t want to kill anyone, he used Spark Plasma instead of Thunderlord’s Judgement. Any chimera caught in the electric net was knocked unconscious, and the net doubled as a barrier protecting Oscar from the demons’ spells. As lightning flashed all around him, Oscar shouted, “If you say you’re too tired and you can’t fight anymore, that’s fine!”

A few of the chimeras charged through the electric barrier, lightning crackling all around them. It seemed they were capable of nullifying electricity with their own lightning magic. They swung their lightning-clad talons down at Oscar. He retracted his umbrella’s canopy and leaped back. At the same time, he dropped some spare gloves at their feet and used his mana shockwaves to crush their legs. As they fell toward him he hooked their necks with the handle of his umbrella and tossed them aside.

“But don’t you ever dare give up on your own life!”

A massive ball of fire suddenly illuminated the dim dungeon. Lestina had cast Azure Blaze directly on herself. Thanks to her Inflame her body was able to withstand the blast, but Oscar’s Shadow Knights were blown away. The shockwave from the blast caused Oscar to stumble, and one of the chimeras managed to sneak beneath his guard and stab his leg. At the same time, another one punched him the side.

“Ngh. Vandre! No one in the world has a life that belongs only to them! You’re not allowed to throw away a life that exists to help others!”

“I shouldn’t have been born” was possibly the saddest thing Oscar had ever heard. Though he knew it was taboo to divert his attention from a fight, Oscar couldn’t help but turn back to Vandre. By using his glove’s shockwaves he blew the two chimeras next to him away and blocked Lestina’s swords with his umbrella. But the heat from her swords still burned his skin. Vandre wanted to yell at Oscar to focus on his own fight, but then he was suddenly reminded of his mother’s words.

“Live for the sake of others.”

He didn’t know why those words popped into his head just then, but before he knew it he was shouting, “What would you know!?”

“I don’t know anything. Because you don’t tell us about yourself! Which is why—”

“Stop ignoring me, you filthy human!”

Oscar activated the third of his Black Umbrella’s abilities, Jet Stream. A torrent of water shot out of his umbrella, hitting Lestina square in the chest. The water vaporized upon hitting her body, but she was still forced to take a step back. As soon as there was some distance between them, Oscar slammed his floating Onyx Shields into her. Not even looking as she was blown back, Oscar stared into Vandre’s eyes and screamed, “You absolutely can’t die! You have to live, or we won’t be able to learn anything about you!”

A few chimeras surrounded Oscar. He deployed a full-strength Hallowed Ground around himself and gave new orders to his Hundred Arm Asura, which had finally finished neutralizing the demon soldiers. Oscar used himself as bait to bring the chimeras close to him, then had the Asura throw all of its enchanted swords at them. The hundred blades rained down on the chimeras, drowning them in magical effects.

“Don’t forget, you’ve already saved so many lives! My comrades, as well as your own family! You saved all of them!”

Explosions, heat waves, lightning bolts, skewers of ice, and petrification balls assailed chimeras. Explosions and flashes filled the air, making it impossible for Vandre to make Oscar out. But a few seconds later a gust of wind blew away the smoke, revealing Oscar standing alone. He’d taken a bit of damage from his own attack too. He was scratched up in places, and his breathing was heavy. Still, he’d managed to perfectly control all 100 swords to minimize the damage to himself. On top of that none of the chimeras were dead. He’d managed to perfectly render all of them unconscious.

Oscar had sworn to protect Vandre’s family, so protect them he would. His strength was dazzling to someone like Vandre.

“So no matter what you do, I’ll keep saving you.”

“So that others will want to live for your sake.”

The second half of his mother’s final words flashed through Vandre’s mind. Though Oscar pissed Vandre off, he also resembled Sasrika.

“So Vandre. Just shut up and let me save your ass.”

Vandre was speechless. His heart was so full of emotion that he didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling. So instead he just said, “You’re getting sloppy.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Oscar heard a sharp scream behind him. Turning around, he saw Lestina encased in a block of ice. Vandre had just cast the strongest ice spell, Frost Purgatory. As he’d inherited the blood of an ice dragon, his aptitude for ice magic was unparalleled. Even though fire was the antithesis of ice, Lestina’s weakened Inflame hadn’t been able to fend off Vandre’s Frost Purgatory. Finally, Lestina’s mana ran out, and Vandre’s spell encased her naked body in ice. The sight was surprisingly artistic. Oscar turned back to Vandre and asked, “So that’s your fetish?”

“Learn to make better jokes, you stupid four-eyes.”

Oscar shrugged and sat down next to Vandre. The two of them leaned against the wall and sighed. Oscar propped up his umbrella and cast Benison Aura, causing a shower of healing light to rain down on them.

“Is this some new kind of torture? I don’t wanna share an umbrella with a guy like you. That’s physically revolting.”

“I don’t like it either, but this is more efficient. Stop being so selfish, sheesh.”

“Please, you’re barely even injured.”

“Well if your wimpiness is cured maybe you don’t need my healing magic after all.”

“Tch. Hey, my shoulder’s not all the way inside. Lean the umbrella toward me.”

“Don’t you mean ‘please lean the umbrella toward me, Oscar-san?’”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

Oscar and Vandre glared daggers at each other as healing light rained down on them. Eventually, they both realized the other wouldn’t back down and they simultaneously clicked their tongues and looked away.

“You made sure to save my comrades too, right?”

“Yeah, the Reisen headquarters guys and your clan members are rescuing them now. Once they’re all free they’ll evacuate using wyverns.”

“Those guys...”

“Oh yeah. You better apologize when we get back. Your clansmen were practically begging us to save you.”

“I see...”

As Oscar and Vandre rested, the sounds of fighting up above grew louder. It looked like Miledi was going all out. There was a huge boom, and dust fell from the ceiling as the building shook.

“You know...” Vandre said.

“Yeah?”

“I’d rather die than have everyone thinking I’m a spineless wimp.”

“And?”

“I’ll fight with you. Not for the sake of this world. I don’t care about Miledi’s dumb revolution. Even if the gods are gone, the world’ll still be full of unfair bullshit.”

Oscar listened quietly to Vandre’s speech. Vandre turned to him and, eyes burning with resolve, declared, “But I’ll gladly fight anyone for your guys’ sake. So let’s do this with a bang!”

“Hmph. Try not to get in my way.”

Say whatever you want, I’ll prove I’m useful... Vandre thought and closed his eyes. Oscar, too, closed his eyes and focused on recuperating. Both men were smiling.

A few minutes prior. After speaking with Vandre, Rasul had returned to the throne room. There, he got to work. He held audiences with influential citizens and listened to their claims.

The populace saw Rasul as a peaceful and wise demon lord. Unlike his predecessor, who’d cared for nothing but war, Rasul seemed to be focusing on domestic affairs. Of course, eliminating all other races and proving the superiority of demons was the wish of most demons within the empire. That being said, they didn’t constantly want to be at war. While every demon was a capable fighter, those who weren’t career soldiers received little compensation during wartime for their battle contributions.

Naturally, any demon would gladly throw their livelihood and even their life away if the demon lord ordered them to, but that didn’t mean they wanted to hear those orders. Which was why most demons respected Rasul for focusing on bettering their lives. Indeed the previous demon lord hadn’t even held audiences with his citizens, so the fact that Rasul did helped increase his popularity.

Thanks to the image I’ve built up, even if I do start a war, the demons will just think I had no other choice. That the peace-loving demon lord was forced to turn to war due to factors outside his control. They’ll probably hate other races even more for how barbaric and cruel they are. Rasul absently thought about the way the people saw him as he watched a fat merchant prostrate himself before him. The previous demon lord’s military rule had worked well. But Rasul found doing things the same way to be boring. So he’d decided to make his rule “just” instead. He wanted to fashion himself as the demons’ hero, a benevolent ruler who protected his people, but crushed the cruel and barbaric humans.

Everything is still going according to your plan, My Lord. So I hope you don’t mind me ad libbing a few of the less important details.

Rasul gazed up at the heavens, his expression oddly ecstatic. At the same time, it felt like he heard static noise buzzing in the back of his mind.

Hm? Is that just my imagination? Unconsciously, he brought his hand up to where his braid had been. When he’d come back from the dungeons, the head maid had shrieked when she’d seen his uneven hair. She’d then insisted she tidy it up.

“So, brother. How come you still keep tying that braid if everything was a lie?”

Well, whatever. As Rasul swept his hair back, his internal monologuing was suddenly interrupted.

“Y-Your Majesty? Have I done something to offend you?”

The merchant looked up at Rasul, sweating profusely. Prime Minister Karm, as well as his two guards Angol and Elga, shot him curious looks as well. Realizing he’d let himself get too distracted, Rasul smiled ruefully. He opened his mouth to tell everyone it was nothing, but before he could, a soldier rushed into the throne room.

“I’m terribly sorry for interrupting you, Your Majesty, but...”

“What’s happened!?”

Elga questioned the panicking soldier.

“There are intruders in the underground dungeon! We’re—”

Before he could finish with the words “under attack” a loud voice interrupted him.

“Miiiiiiileeeeeeeeediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

“Hm?” “What?” “Isn’t that voice...?” Rasul’s generals and prime minister all looked up in confusion.

“Impaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaact!”

There was a loud boom, and the throne room’s ceiling shattered.

“Your Majesty!”

Elga and Angol protectively jumped in front of Rasul. The rubble from the destroyed ceiling curved and fell straight toward Rasul. His generals swept aside the rubble with ease. But at the same time, someone else groaned in pain. A gust of wind blew away the dust cloud that had formed, revealing a lone girl.

“The super beautiful genius mage...”

Miledi made a sideways peace sign, raised one leg, and winked at Rasul.

“Miledi Reisen is... here!”

As Miledi struck her pose, a halo of light appeared behind her. She’d actually bothered using light magic to add special effects.

“Y-You uncultured swine!”

Karm, who’d been knocked to the ground by the shockwave, shouted at Miledi. He hated that she’d trashed the sacred throne room, attacked Rasul, and most importantly, knocked him flat on his back. Oh, and there was also the fact that Miledi had landed directly on top of the merchant, and was still standing on his back while he was unconscious. Meiru and Naiz dropped down after Miledi. They quietly whispered in her ear, “Sorry, Miledi-chan, I couldn’t steal it.”

“I couldn’t either. It looks like spatial magic just doesn’t work on the demon lord.”

In truth, when Miledi had made her entrance, Meiru and Naiz had surreptitiously tried to steal Rasul’s artifacts. Specifically, they’d been trying to get the two that protected him from gravity and spatial magic. But the demon lord had easily deflected Meiru’s water whip and Naiz’s portals.

“Ah well. It would have been nice if it worked, but I didn’t think it’d go that easily.”

While Miledi whispered back to them, Rasul started clapping.

“My, how wonderful. Well done, Lady Reisen. That was quite the impressive entrance.”

“Oh, did you fall in love with my dazzling performance? You sure know how to flatter a lady! But sorry, I just can’t go out with someone who looks so repulsive! Too bad!”

Rasul’s smile faded a little. He turned to Angol and Elga. The look in his eyes seemed to be saying, “Is that really the heir of the Reisen clan? You know, that super dignified family?”

He then turned back to Miledi and said, “Hmm, I see you brought a new comrade with you. Is she Oscar Orcus’ replacement?”

“I heard you did some pretty horrible things to my cute little sister. I’m here to do the same to you.”

Meiru smiled gently, but that smile didn’t reach her eyes. In fact, her eyes were burning with sadistic rage. “My, how scary. I guess I need to eliminate such scary intruders for the sake of my country.”

The air behind Rasul suddenly warped. The two black-robed chimeras canceled their camouflage and revealed themselves. At the same time, one of Rasul’s rings began to glow. The one that weakened Miledi.

“Mrrrgh.”

“There there, I’ll heal you right back up.”

Miledi suddenly felt lethargic, but then Meiru’s sunset-orange mana enveloped her.

“Alright, I’m back in it!”

“I see. Come to think of it, my subordinates’ reports did mention you’d recruited a restoration magic user.”

“Hehe. Your tricks won’t work on me anymore! I’ve got this, too!”

Miledi held up the necklace she was wearing. Hanging from it was a ring that looked different from the Treasure Trove ring Oscar had given her before. This was another one of Oscar’s new artifacts, the Ring of Renewal. It was enchanted with the restoration spell Transient Infinity, which preserved something in its current state by continually restoring it to the state it had been in a second before as each second passed. Naturally, it wasn’t as powerful as when Meiru cast the spell herself, but it was enough to restore Miledi back to fighting strength every ten seconds, which was at least enough to combat Rasul’s artifact.

“Oh, you already developed countermeasures for my artifacts? In that case, I’ll just make you submit through brute force.”

“Do you really think you can do that?”

Rasul drew Ignis, his enchanted sword. At the same time, his two chimeras and two generals readied their weapons. Furthermore, Karm had retreated to a safe distance and was already chanting a spell. On top of that, Rasul’s guards were pouring into the throne room. In seconds, Miledi’s group was surrounded. But she ignored the newcomers and kept her gaze fixed firmly on Rasul.

“I don’t know the true you.”

“Hm?”

“But I believe the person in front of me isn’t the true you.”

Miledi was convinced there was more to Rasul. She refused to believe that the kind Rasul that Vandre and the Schnee clansmen had come to love was just a lie. As for why, that was because—

“Because that’s what Van-chan believes.”

“You know Van himself already accepted that everything he believed in was an illusion, right?”

“In that case, I just need to find out for sure if that’s all there is to you.”

It was precisely when her comrades were wavering that Miledi needed to remain firm. Since she was everyone’s leader. Miledi thrust her hand out and pointed her index finger at Rasul. “Prepare yourself, demon lord. Because I’m here to tear through deceptions and bring judgment upon the wicked.”

Miledi was determined to find out why it was that Rasul had changed and what his true thoughts were now. She wouldn’t leave until she knew the truth. But regardless of what the truth was, Rasul had harmed the people close to her.

“Listen up because I’m only gonna say this once.”

Elga and Angol stiffened up. They realized the prodigy of the Reisen family had just gotten serious. But this Reisen wasn’t like the others.

“I’m gonna beat the fucking shit out of you!”

Because she made her declaration with a fearless smile. The last heir the family of stoic executioners had produced was nothing like her predecessors. She was cheerful, wild, and unbelievably annoying.

“Talk is cheap.”

The first to respond to her was Angol. He quickly raised his weapon, a spiked flail, and swung it at Miledi. The ball end of the flail, which was as large as a human head, shot forward like a cannonball. But Miledi struck it down with her gravity magic. The moment the flail struck the ground, the floor shattered. Angol’s swing had been enhanced with his special magic, Pulverize. It allowed him to vibrate objects at a super-high frequency, exponentially upping their destructive potential. As chunks of marble flooring flew through the air, the two black-robed chimeras dashed forward. They activated their Limit Breaks right away, and they moved so fast their figures blurred. Their plan was, of course, to stick to Miledi and Naiz, thus preventing them from using their ancient magic. But before the chimeras could reach them, a portal opened up underneath Miledi, Meiru, and Naiz’s feet. The party dropped into it, and the chimeras’ attacks whooshed harmlessly over their heads. A second later, the group reappeared in separate corners of the room. The gauntleted chimera rushed toward Miledi, while the one with the assassin’s dagger headed for Naiz.

“If you can’t reach me, you’re not even a threat.”

As the chimera with the assassin’s dagger bolted toward Naiz, he teleported again. It chased him again, but every time it got close Naiz teleported away. Completely abandoning conventional movement methods, Naiz repeatedly teleported himself around in a ten-meter radius, easily outpacing the chimera.

“Stop letting him toy with you!”

Elga stepped forward, rebuking the chimera. But the moment he did—

“Whoa!?”

“You’ve got good instincts.”

Naiz teleported behind him and slashed at his back. Elga just barely managed to raise his ax in time to block. But he was only able to fend Naiz off for an instant. Naiz used the Treasure Trove Oscar had given him to quickly summon a second scimitar into his free hand and slashed horizontally at Elga, cutting deep into his back. Screaming in pain, Elga rolled forward to put some distance between him and Naiz. The chimera with the assassin’s dagger rushed at Naiz while he was occupied, but Naiz just teleported away again before it could get in range. This time Naiz teleported right in the middle of Rasul’s guards and sent them all flying with a Void Fissure. A short distance away, the gauntleted chimera had succeeded in closing in on Miledi.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

But Meiru showed up on its flank and swung down at it with her cutlass. The chimera didn’t even spare her a glance as it dodged to the side, but then a torrent of water suddenly rushed at it. Without any time to react, the chimera was swallowed up by the fierce current and borne away. Seeing as she was surrounded by water, Karm launched a powerful lightning spell at Meiru. However—

“Impossible!”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Perfectly pure water doesn’t conduct electricity.”

Meiru created an arch of water and rode atop it. Though she was inside an enclosed room, she managed to nimbly weave her way between combatants by controlling the flow of her arch. This was Meiru’s preferred style of combat. But since she knew there wouldn’t always be an ocean wherever she was, Meiru had spent the past few days storing a massive amount of pure water inside the Treasure Trove Oscar had given her. She wanted to prove she could fight at full strength even on land, so that Miledi would respect her again.

“Then I’ll vaporize you along with your water!”

Karm summoned a massive sphere of flame above him. He flung it at Meiru but a portal appeared in the water beneath her and she teleported to a different part of her stream. Karm’s fireball just hit empty water, creating a vast amount of steam. But steam was still water, just in gaseous form. And water was Meiru’s domain. She sent the superheated steam hurtling toward the gauntleted chimera, who was once again trying to close in on Miledi. Even if chimeras didn’t feel pain, their movements naturally slowed when they were covered in burns. And that slowdown gave Miledi enough time to fire gravity spheres at Elga, Angol, and all the imperial guards. The soldiers and generals were sent flying by the force of those gravity spheres.

“It seems I’ll have to deal with you myself, Lady Reisen.”

Rasul activated the ability of his boots and shot toward Miledi at breakneck speed. He swung Ignis at Miledi, his form perfect.

“I already told you I’m not interested in repulsive guys like you, so stop clinging to me.”

Miledi leaned backward as she taunted Rasul. As his bloodred sword passed over her head, she let herself fall to the floor and through the portal that suddenly appeared. She then reappeared behind Angol.

“Here.”

“Gwaaaaaaah!”

Using her gravity magic, she slammed him into the floor. But by using body strengthening at the last minute, Angol managed to avoid being crushed to a pulp. He wasn’t one of Rasul’s best generals for nothing.

“Come now, don’t ignore me!”

Rasul chased after Miledi, but before he could reach her she disappeared into another portal. A second later a huge torrent of water shot toward Rasul and Angol. They leaped to either side, avoiding the torrent just in time. But then a massive black sphere appeared in the space between them. Angol prepared himself to fight the pull of gravity, but Rasul just smiled, confident his artifact would protect him. But to his surprise, the sphere didn’t try to drag him or Angol in. Instead, it sucked in all the nearby water. Then—

“Gaaah!”

“Ngh!”

Tiny jets of water shot out of the sphere at supersonic speed. They were compressed enough to cut through the walls and ceiling, so naturally, they left numerous gashes on Angol and the chimera’s bodies as well. Rasul managed to protect himself by deploying his earring artifact’s barrier, but that barrier soon began to crack. This was Miledi and Meiru’s new combo skill, Leviathan Assault. By combining Meiru’s water magic with Miledi’s Spatial Severance they’d been able to recreate the high-speed water jets the Leviathan underneath Andika had shot out. Meiru had also put fragments of her cutlass into the water as well, increasing the jets’ cutting power. Realizing his artifact’s barrier wouldn’t be enough, Rasul deployed another barrier with his own mana.

“Lightning Spear— Overload!”

Lightning Spear was an original spell Miledi had created by packing three Thunderlord’s Judgements into a single compressed spear, thus increasing its penetrating power. She threw her spear at Rasul’s barrier, and though it resisted her spear for a moment, it started cracking after a few seconds.

“I suppose I should have expected as much from—”

“Azure Spear— Overload!”

Next, Miledi summoned a spear packed with three Azure Blazes and fired it at Rasul as well. Narrowing his eyes, the demon lord poured more mana into his barrier. At the same time, he activated his shadow manipulating artifact, the Void Ring, and had his shadow wrap around his barrier to strengthen it. His barrier was now strong enough to withstand attacks that could raze entire castles, but even that wasn’t enough to stop Miledi.

“Focused Divine Wrath!”

Divine Wrath was the strongest light spell in existence. It irked Miledi that its name alluded to the power of god, but she nevertheless cast it with ease. A blast of white light surrounded by sky-blue sparks slammed into Rasul’s barrier, cracking both his shadow fortification as well as the barrier itself.

“Your Majesty!”

“Damn you!”

Karm, Elga, and Angol watched with furious rage as Miledi pounded away at Rasul. They wanted to go to his aid, but they were caught in Meiru’s current. However the gauntleted chimera had now recovered and it dashed toward Miledi, intent on stopping her. The other chimera that was chasing Naiz also swapped targets to Miledi, as did the remaining Imperial Guards. But all of them were stopped in their tracks by another barrage from Miledi and Meiru’s Leviathan Assault.

“Ngh, so this is the power of teleportation?”

“This isn’t good!”

Indeed, Naiz had placed countless portals around Miledi’s Spatial Severance, allowing him to transport the jet streams it shot out wherever he wanted. Naiz had placed corresponding portals all over the ceiling, but he hadn’t stopped there. He’d also placed a bunch of tiny portals inside the stream of water Meiru was moving across the room. As a result, he was able to redirect the jet streams all across the room, striking at everyone’s blind spots. By adding Naiz into the combo attack, they’d created something unbelievably powerful and omnidirectional.

“That woman’s the one holding them together. Target Meiru Melusine first!”

Elga’s shout echoed through the room. He’d realized they were being led around the nose because they’d split up to deal with all the ancient magic users simultaneously. Miledi was being protected by the other two while Naiz could freely teleport wherever he wanted, so he’d singled out Meiru first. If they could just deal with her and get rid of the torrent of water flying across the room, Elga knew the demons could retake the advantage. Furthermore, since Meiru was healing-focused, Elga was certain her combat prowess wasn’t as high as the other two. His thought process was rational, and it was certainly important to take out a party’s healer first. Unfortunately for him, his one miscalculation was that the Liberators’ healer wasn’t some dainty priestess, but a master of ancient magic and a pirate queen to boot. The two chimeras instantly answered Elga’s command and pincered Meiru. The chimera with the assassin’s blade pierced Meiru’s heart, while the one with the gauntlets pulverized her organs with a well-placed punch.

“That hurts.”

Meiru had little training in the martial side of combat so she couldn’t easily dodge or block blows. She was indeed the easiest person to attack. But that meant nothing in the face of her ancient magic. So long as she didn’t die instantly, she could heal even fatal blows. And naturally, she had more experience restoring herself than anyone else. While she was the easiest to hit, the pirate queen Meiru Melusine was also the toughest to kill. The two chimeras drew their weapons back, planning to strike again.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you escape, my half-brethren.”

Meiru disassembled her cutlass into a whip sword. She then accessed the Treasure Trove attached to her cutlass’ hilt and brought out even more sharpened fragments to elongate her whip. This was a new artifact Oscar had designed specifically for Meiru, the Limitless Whip Blade. The whip sword wrapped around the two chimeras, binding them to Meiru.

“Sleep for a while, my pitiful brethren.”

The two chimeras struggled to escape their bindings, but the more they fought the more the blade fragments sliced through their skin. Realizing they couldn’t escape they instead turned to attack Meiru, but before they could, a powerful electric shock ran through the whip sword. Of course, it hit Meiru as well, but she cast restoration magic as it did, healing her instantly.

After a moment the shock passed, and white smoke rose from the two twitching chimeras. Meiru released them from their bindings, and they fell limply to the floor. Though they weren’t moving, Meiru bound them with Oscar’s sealstone shackles just in case, rendering them completely powerless.

Meiru had no time to take a breather though, as Karm, Angol, Elga, and all the Imperial Guards bombarded her with magic. However, their attacks vanished into the ether as Naiz used spatial magic to disperse them.

“Fufu, you can use your magic freely now, can’t you?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Meiru.”

Meiru sat down on her water arch while Naiz appeared next to her. He’d been focusing on evasion while the chimeras had been chasing him, but now he could go on the offensive. He drew his twin scimitars and dropped into a sword stance. Though his martial skills had atrophied while he’d focused on mastering his spatial magic, he was now determined to regain the proficiency he’d lost. A second after he drew his sword he heard the sound of shattering glass behind him. Miledi had finally broken through Rasul’s barrier.

“Your Majesty!”

Elga and Angol tried to rush to the demon lord’s aid. Meanwhile, Karm and the Imperial Guards bombarded Meiru and Naiz with magic.

“You take care of those guys!”

“I suppose you’ll be taking the demon lord then?”

Miledi gave her two comrades a thumbs-up, and they started mopping up the remnants of the demon lord’s forces. The moment Rasul’s barrier broke, a vast amount of mana surged up from within him. He was emitting more mana than any one person should be capable of storing. No wonder they call him an avatar of their god. It’s like he’s drawing power from the heavens. Miledi thought to herself. A second later, Rasul vanished, only to reappear right in front of Miledi.

“I think I’ll have you sleep for a little bit.”

Rasul flashed Miledi a charming smile and thrust his palm in front of her face. One of his rings started to glow, the one that activated his mana shockwave.

“Ugh, get away from me you creep.”

Though Rasul’s smile was enough to make other ladies swoon, Miledi just made a disgusted face. The ring on her right hand began to glow as well as she accessed her Treasure Trove.

“Hm?”

“Too baaaaad, that won’t work either! Ahahaha!”

Rasul’s bloodred shockwave parted to either side, passing harmlessly by Miledi. She’d deflected it with the fluttering, translucent cloth she’d attached to her shoulder. This was an artifact Oscar had made specifically for Miledi, the Guardian Angel’s Raiment. It absorbed the shockwaves Rasul could emit and redirected them to the edges of the cloth. It was woven from Oscar’s metal threads and was capable of cushioning the wearer against all sorts of impacts and magical attacks. So long as any part of the cloth touched an attack, it could freely control the mana contained within the attack to redirect it. It was quite large as well, so even Miledi, who was bad at close quarters combat, could get by just holding it up in front of her. Indeed, Miledi easily managed to block Rasul’s enchanted sword with it as well. It deadened the impact of his swing, and while a few of Oscar’s threads frayed, the cloth didn’t rip. His artifact was sturdy enough to stop even Ignis. Furthermore, it was also enchanted with restoration magic, so it was continually repairing itself, albeit a little slowly. Rasul’s eyes widened in surprise as the cloth managed to block both his shockwave and his sword swing.

“Eat this!”

“Oh?”

Miledi wrapped the cloth around Rasul’s neck, and it blasted him away. Rasul used his shadow to support him and safely regain his balance.

“If gravity magic doesn’t work, then how about this!?”

Countless metal spheres appeared around Miledi. Oscar had transmuted them to be super dense, and though each was the size of a fist, they each weighed over a hundred kilograms. Miledi grinned and hurled them all toward Rasul. Rasul’s artifact only nullified gravity magic in his immediate vicinity, so it couldn’t stop Miledi from using it to shoot superheavy balls at him. A barrage of spheres bore down on Rasul.

“I see you’ve really thought this through!”

Rasul’s shadow barrier wasn’t powerful enough to stop superdense spheres accelerated by gravity magic. Nor was his sword sharp enough to cut through them. His shockwaves wouldn’t be able to nullify them either. Forced to dodge, Rasul activated his earrings’ barrier as he weaved between the barrage.

“Hey, how does it feel? Even though you’re an artifact user, you’re getting owned by artifacts. Feels bad, doesn’t it? Bahahahaha!”

“Ngh.”

Rasul narrowed his eyes dangerously. But before he could shoot back a retort, one of Miledi’s spheres hit his barrier. The impact caused him to stagger, and once he stopped moving he was a sitting duck. Balls slammed into him one after another, sending massive cracks through his barrier.

“You’re not even fighting with your own strength!”

Trapped in place, Rasul nevertheless attempted to taunt Miledi.

“You’re right, this is O-kun’s strength. O-kun’s here, protecting me.”

Miledi smiled happily, an expression that seemed wholly out of place on a battlefield.

“Kakakakakaka! See, this is the difference between an artifact user and an artifact maker! Get owned, you third-rate loser! Bahahaha!”

Miledi was as proud of Oscar’s accomplishments as she was of her own. Her tone was so annoying that Rasul’s arrogant smile finally vanished. But even when Miledi was being annoying, she didn’t let up on her fierce assault. The final sphere she sent at Rasul shattered his barrier. The burden of maintaining it until now had been so great that his earrings shattered as well.

“Alright, I think it’s about time I get serious,” Miledi said, her tone flat. She was concentrating too hard to sound annoying now.

Rasul, who’d been about to charge at her, stopped. Goosebumps rose all over his body. And a second later, Miledi unleashed her true power.

“Blitz Blaze Javelin— Overload.”

A flaming spear covered in lightning shot toward Rasul.

“It’s time— Ignis!”

As expected, Rasul’s magic-cutting sword sliced through Miledi’s spear with ease. But she didn’t seem worried in the slightest.

“Crimson Javelin— Meteor Shower.”

A hundred flaming spears appeared above Rasul and shot toward him like a meteor shower.

“So now you’re going for quantity over quality? What a boring strategy.”

Sneering, Rasul split his shadow into a hundred pieces and blocked the spears.

“Ice Storm— Starfall.”

Countless blades of wind and pillars of ice fell from the open ceiling, all aiming for Rasul.

“You’re just wasting your mana.”

Ignis glowed with a ghastly light, and Rasul swung down with all his might. That one swing was enough to blow away the entirety of Miledi’s barrage.

“Earthstorm— Hellbringer.”

All the rubble in the room rose up and shot toward Rasul. He shot down the rubble using his own earth spell, and said in exasperation, “How long are you going to—”

“Freezing Torrent. Lightning Spear. Ice Fang. Earth Shaker. Flare Blitz. Aqua Slicer. Tornado.”

“D-Damn you.”

Miledi’s unbelievably massive barrage of magic wiped the confident look off of Rasul’s face. Magic of every element shot toward him, blotting out his field of view. Miledi was overwhelming him with a wall of magic. Rasul used his shadows, Ignis, and his own exceptional magical abilities to fend off Miledi’s assault, but he was slowly pushed back.

On the other hand, Miledi’s attacks kept growing stronger. She started casting her spells faster, and her aim grew more precise.

“Spark Plasma. Hellfire Tsunami. Micro Ocean. Celestial Flash. Pale Gaol.”

“You’re casting advanced-level spells at that speed!?”

Rasul blocked the barrage of thunder with a barrier, cut down the wave of fire with Ignis, blasted the tsunami of water apart with his mana shockwave, shot down the blade of light with his own magic, and blew away the petrifying white smoke with his shadows. There was no opportunity for him to launch a counterattack. He had to keep his distance, and couldn’t bring the battle to close quarters, where he had the advantage. Miledi had him completely pinned down with magic.

I never imagined this generation’s Reisen would be so strong she’d be a match for the demon lord. Indeed, Miledi was fighting on equal terms with the demon lord, the strongest member of a race that was already known for being the strongest mages. In fact, if it wasn’t for his array of legendary artifacts, he would be overwhelmed. Meaning Miledi already outmatched him when it came to pure magical skill alone.

No human should have that kind of power. Miledi had of course been blessed with superhuman talent, but she’d also put in an ungodly amount of effort to hone her skills. Rasul couldn’t even fathom how much training it must have taken for Miledi to reach this level while still in her teens. And Miledi hadn’t even ascended to her final form.

“Cosmos...”

An immeasurable amount of mana rose up from Miledi, dying the entire throne room sky-blue.

“Impossible...”

For the first time since becoming demon lord, Rasul was worried he might actually lose. Countless miniature suns started orbiting around Miledi.

“Crusher.”

Each sun was comprised of a combination of Azure Blaze, Thunderlord’s Judgement, and Divine Wrath, the three strongest spells. And there were over a hundred suns. The multicolored suns hurtled toward Rasul, spelling certain death.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Rasul screamed in pain, something Miledi and the others hadn’t ever heard before. All of his skill combined wasn’t enough to stop the barrage of suns, and he was blasted against the wall. The wall exploded outward, a sight that could be seen all throughout the capital. But no one watching expected that it was their demon lord that was on the losing end of that exchange.

“I told you I’d beat the shit out of you!”

Panting heavily, Miledi grinned and pumped her fist into the air. After that she fell to the ground, too drained of mana to keep floating.

“Yes yes, well done. You’re amazing, Miledi-chan.”

“Seriously Meru-nee, stop treating me like a kid.”

Meiru caught Miledi before she hit the floor. She started returning her water to her Treasure Trove and cast restoration magic on Miledi.

“We’re pretty much done here too. The guards just kept coming so we plugged up the entrances.”

Miledi looked over and saw Elga, Angol, Karm, and all of Rasul’s guards lying facedown on the floor. A number of other guards were stuck outside the demolished throne room, an invisible barrier keeping them from entering. Naiz had used spatial magic to cut them off. They desperately threw themselves against the barrier, their eyes bloodshot. They were determined to kill Miledi for harming their precious demon lord.

“Th-They’re kinda scary...”

“Well, you are the terrorist who beat up their demon lord.”

“Yeah, what did you expect? Anyway, let’s go see how he’s doing.”

Once everyone was healed, they grabbed Naiz’s hands and he teleported them out of the castle. Rasul had crashed into a nearby tower, and he lay limply on its floor. Miledi and the others descended onto the tower’s roof.

“Good grief. This was just meant to be a sideshow, but it ended up with me getting humiliated.”

Blood stained Rasul’s clothes and part of his face had been badly burned. Panting, he extricated himself from the tower’s wall and leaped up to the roof.

“Rasul Alva Igdol. I’ll have you tell me the truth now.”

Miledi stared intently at Rasul. Her desire to discover the truth hadn’t waned one bit.

“Heh. You and Van really are such entertaining toys.”

“Did you say... toys?”

That word gave Miledi deja vu.

“Did you truly believe I loved Van? That I actually didn’t want to do these experiments, and that I was a man of virtue who was trying to bring people happiness?”

Hilarious. Oh, I can’t believe how cute you two are. I never get bored toying with people like you. Rasul’s thoughts showed on his face, and his expression twisted into a cold, heartless sneer. He looked absolutely inhuman. Naiz and Meiru gave Rasul a disgusted look, but Miledi didn’t seem angry, or upset. She could tell something was wrong here. As her doubt grew, she suddenly felt like she was standing in front of a closed gate.

“Miledi Reisen. The girl who killed even her family for the sake of justice! The blazing sun who fights against the world!”

“Who... are you?”

Miledi asked, confused. Naiz and Meiru turned to Miledi in shock. But when they saw her face, they realized the Rasul reflected in her eyes was a completely different person than the Rasul standing in front of them. Rasul sneered again, his expression dripping with malice.

“I wonder how you’ll feel when you realize you’ve just started a war?”

“What are you plan—”

Before she could finish that sentence, Rasul poured mana into the artifact located at the top of the tower, activating it remotely. The pealing of a bell echoed throughout the capital. Rasul then flew into the air. Caught off guard, the group chased after him. But Rasul wasn’t trying to run. He flew up to the center of the capital and surrounded himself in a cloak of wind. Then, looking down at his citizens, he opened his mouth and shouted, “Behold, my brethren! Standing over there are the church’s strongest agents!”

The bell located on the tower amplified his voice, broadcasting it throughout the city.

They stopped in their tracks, surprised by his sudden change in tactics.

“They infiltrated the imperial castle and used cowardly means to slay my soldiers! Not only that, these assailants belong to our most hated foe! For you see, that girl over there is a Reisen!”

The demons down below started murmuring to each other. It was undoubtedly the Reisen family that had caused demons the most grief over the past few decades. In fact, many demons feared the Reisens. So to them, it made perfect sense that a Reisen had been chosen as the church’s vanguard.

“Rouse yourselves, my brave, beloved citizens! Though I wished for nothing but peace and focused only on the prosperity of our kingdom, these barbaric humans tried to slay me regardless! It’s time we eliminated these inferior creatures once and for all!”

Demons hadn’t invaded humans since the reign of the last demon lord. Even when the church had sent raiding parties across the border, they’d avoided escalating into a full-scale war. But now the humans had launched a cowardly sneak attack on their beloved, peace-loving demon lord. Not only that, they’d sent a Reisen to do it. Such an outrageous affront could not go unpunished.

“Punish the cowardly humans for their sins! Show them that it is the demon race that is superior!”

Rasul’s speech successfully worked the demons up into a frenzy. He raised his fist high and shouted even louder than before, “The time for war has come!”

“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The battle cries of a hundred thousand demons shook the capital. They were ready to give their lives to bring the hammer of justice down on the barbaric humans. Rasul turned back toward Miledi and spread his arms wide, sneering. Miledi’s goal was turning the world into a place of peace and cooperation. And Rasul had just thrown the biggest wrench he could into her plans.

“This miiight be a problem.”

“Tch, he’s craftier than I thought.”

Meiru’s gentle smile disappeared, while Naiz ground his teeth in frustration. However, Miledi just met Rasul’s crazed gaze. There was no frustration or impatience in her expression. Instead, she looked as though she’d finally figured something out. He knows how to entice people into a cult-like devotion, and he revels in trampling on the feelings of others. On top of that, Ma-chan said he suddenly changed right after his coronation ceremony. Lastly, he wants to push demons and humans to fight no matter what.

“You and Van really are such entertaining toys.”

That one sentence had helped Miledi connect the dots. Though she had no proof, she was sure her deduction was correct. Once she realized what had happened, anger welled up within her.

“I see... So that’s how it is.”

“Miledi-chan?”

“Miledi? Are you okay?”

Ignoring the frenzied battle cries down below, Miledi glared at Rasul, her eyes simmering with rage. His sneer didn’t waver and he said cheerfully, “So, what are you going to do, Lady Reisen?”

Will you run? Or will you continue fighting me? Or are you going to try and tell people I’ve been experimenting on demons and that I’m actually evil? Not that that’ll work. Rasul waited patiently for Miledi’s response, confident that he’d won. Miledi sucked in a huge breath, then used wind magic to amplify her voice.

“I! Love! Allllllllll demoooooooooooooooooooooons!”

Miledi’s shout echoed through the capital, the emotion in her voice clear to all who were listening. Utterly confused by her declaration, the demons simmered down and exchanged glances. Rasul was so shocked his jaw dropped open. Even Meiru and Naiz hadn’t expected Miledi to try something like this. In the stunned silence that followed, Miledi sucked in another breath and shouted loudly enough to rupture her vocal cords.

“I love all humans! I love all beastmen! I love all vampires, and dragonmen, and humans, and all the mixed races born between them! I love everyone!”

This world was unfair, rife with prejudice and conflict. But even so, Miledi loved this world, from the bottom of her heart. Likewise, she loved all the creatures that lived within it.

“I want to be able to eat a meal together with everyone where we’re all smiling and laughing!”

Miledi’s unconditional love was so strong it gave the demons pause.

“I want to be able to joke around with everyone! Even if we fight sometimes, I want us all to end every day looking forward to seeing each other again!”

Rasul had finally recovered from his shock. He stared at Miledi as though she were some strange, alien creature. On the other hand, Meiru and Naiz closed their eyes and smiled gently at Miledi.

“Is it wrong to wish for a world where we can all live together!? Is it wrong to hope that humans and demons will one day join hands!?”

Rasul knew he needed to stop Miledi. His instincts were telling him it was dangerous to let her keep talking. She was too much of a threat. However, Meiru and Naiz glared at Rasul, making it clear they’d stop him if he tried anything. Weakened as he was, he couldn’t fight them. His mind raced, trying to think of some other way to stop Miledi.

“I don’t think it’s wrong!”

Her words started having a noticeable effect. The demons were starting to realize that, unbelievable as it was, the Reisen heir actually meant it when she said she loved them. They no longer knew what was real or not, or what they should be doing.

“And you know what, your demon lord doesn’t either!”

The demons grew even more confused. Weren’t you just fighting each other? they thought, their gazes turning to Rasul.

“In truth, the demon lord is a kind person! He cares more about the future of demonkind than anyone! He values peace more than war and he loves all of you!”

Vandre and the Schnee clan had believed that the kind, peace-loving Rasul still existed somewhere. And in truth he did. What had transformed him into this monster was—

“It’s the church’s shitty god who’s trying to start this war! He’s the one who—”

Before Miledi could finish, a burst of blinding light appeared from the demon lord’s castle. A second later, Rasul appeared atop the castle’s tallest tower. A giant shimmering magic circle appeared on one of the castle’s undamaged walls, and the tower Rasul was standing on began to glow.

“O-Oi, isn’t this kinda bad?” One of the demons standing in the capital’s central plaza muttered. His worry was understandable. Rasul had just activated the capital’s ultimate weapon. This spell was only meant to be invoked when the city faced a serious crisis, for it was capable of wiping out entire armies. The city needed multiple barriers just to defend against the shockwaves from this spell if it was fired outside the capital. But right now, Rasul was aiming it at Miledi, who was floating above the center of the city. This was more than just “kinda bad.” Judging by the elevation difference between the tower and where Miledi was standing, many people near the center of the city would get caught up in the blast too.

“Nacchan, Meru-nee! We need to get higher or—”

Miledi was planning on flying high enough that the castle’s weapon wouldn’t hit the city. But before she could finish her sentence, a loud voice echoed directly inside Miledi’s head.

“Do you plan to abandon the capital?”

With that one statement, Rasul had rendered Miledi’s group immobile. If they tried to escape, he’d just blow up the city.

“Though you may be one of His pieces, you are too dangerous to let live.”

Cold sweat poured down Miledi’s back as she stared at the size of the magic circle covering the castle. Nevertheless, she smiled fearlessly and shouted, “Man, you sure blew your cover quickly! I bet your precious master’s disappointed in you! Bahaha!”

Now Miledi had proof that the scum they’d been fighting hadn’t been the real Rasul.

“Nacchan! Meru-nee!”

“Leave it to me.”

“This’ll be a piece of cake.”

Meiru and Naiz nodded immediately while Miledi poured all of her mana into creating the biggest Spatial Severance she could. The moment she did, the tower Rasul was standing on fired an aurora of rainbow light at her.

“Like hell we’re losing heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!”

Miledi absorbed the beam with her Spatial Severance. Though the beam was powerful enough to raze armies, it wasn’t powerful enough to escape Miledi. However, there was so much energy contained within the beam that its aftershocks could still hit the capital even if the beam itself was absorbed. Which was why Naiz was protecting the central plaza with a spatial barrier. Meanwhile, Meiru continued casting restoration magic on Miledi’s Spatial Severance, preventing it from getting too saturated and exploding. The sky above the capital was covered in multicolored light. And as time passed, the beam slowly began to push Miledi back. She struggled to maintain her Spatial Severance, but it consumed so much mana that she was quickly running out. Meiru, too, was using a prodigious amount of mana to continue restoring Miledi’s Spatial Severance.

“Struggle as best as you can, Irregulars. My lord’s board has no need for pieces like you.”

On the other hand, the demon lord looked to have energy to spare.

“Shit... We have to do something about... that castle.”

Right now the only person capable of destroying the castle wall was Naiz. But he’d expended a huge amount of his mana in the battle earlier, and he’d used up most of what was left erecting a barrier to protect the city. Just as Miledi was starting to worry they might not be able to stop the beam—

“We just need to destroy that castle, right?”

“O-kun!”

Oscar appeared. He adjusted his glasses like usual, and Miledi smiled in relief.

“Blow that thing to pieces!”

“You got it, Leader.”

Neither Oscar’s strongest attack, his Black Umbrella’s upgraded Thunderlord’s Judgement, nor a barrage of enchanted swords would be enough to take out the castle walls. After all, Rasul’s barrier had been enough to stop those attacks.

“Come, my Shadow Emperor.”

An earthquake shook the capital, and the demons looked even more shocked than they had when Rasul had pointed the army killer at them. Miledi and the others were stunned as well. In fact, Rasul was too. It was only natural. After all, Oscar had just summoned a golem knight that was thirty meters tall. It had a longsword in its right hand and a round shield in its left. Oscar had even fashioned a cape for it. With a thunderous roar, it raised its sword. That simple action created a gale of wind.

“Oscar Orcus!” Rasul shouted. He deployed the strongest barrier he could.

“That’s right. I’m Oscar Orcus, the artifact maker.”

And this is one of my artifacts. Oscar raised his hand, and the golem’s sword caught fire. It burned as hot as Lestina had when she’d used her Inflame. Without any hesitation, Oscar had his golem swing its sword down. The sword crashed into the castle with all the force of a natural disaster. Rasul’s barrier put up as much resistance as a piece of paper before shattering, and the castle’s physical and magical wards melted as well. The Shadow Emperor’s blade cleanly cut through the castle. The magic circle fizzled and faded as the golem’s burning blade sliced it in half along with the castle. As the castle walls tumbled to the ground Oscar shouted, “Go, Van!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice!”

Vandre burst from the ruins of the castle in his dragon form. He shot toward Rasul, who was still off-balance from the shockwave the Shadow Emperor’s swing had created. Rasul quickly fired a few blasts of magic at Vandre, but they all bounced off his scales. Changing tactics, Rasul sent his shadows after Vandre instead, but Vandre dodged them by returning to human form. Weaving between the numerous shadows, Vandre shouted, “Take this, you shitty brother!”

“Van—”

Vandre put all his might behind a single punch and swung at the circlet on Rasul’s forehead. His fist connected, and Rasul was sent flying backward. The demon lord once again slammed into the tower behind him and slumped against the wall. As Vandre snorted dismissively, Oscar came to stand next to him.

“What do you think?”

“Dunno.”

Wondering what the two were talking about, all of them walked over. Vandre stared at Rasul as if trying to discern something. The demon lord slowly staggered to his feet. The circlet on his forehead cracked, then shattered. The moment it did, “Y-You bastard. Shut up!”

Rasul put a hand to his forehead and started shouting to himself. It sounded like he was hearing voices in his head.

“I knew it. So that’s how it is, isn’t it?” Vandre said, his voice trembling. He’d already accepted everything he’d believed in was a lie once, but now he’d found hope again. While Oscar had been healing the two of them, he’d told Vandre of his theory. Rasul had changed drastically the day after his coronation ceremony, and Oscar hadn’t been able to figure out the composition of the demon lord’s circlet. Oscar’s theory was that the circlet Rasul had received during his coronation had been what had transformed him.

“I see. In that case, we’d better save Van-chan’s real brother.”

That brief exchange was enough for Miledi to figure out what was going on, and she smiled. Meiru and Naiz did as well. A second later, an explosion of mana erupted from Rasul. His normally red mana had hints of silver in it now. The spiral of mana reached up into the heavens, and clouds started gathering around the demon lord.

“His mana can even influence the weather? Haha, this is starting to get ridiculous.”

Cold sweat poured down Miledi and the others’ foreheads as they watched the something that was pretending to be Rasul step toward them.

“You bastards, how dare you get in the way of my divine mission! Disrupting His plans is the greatest sin there is! Why can’t you ignorant beings understand that!?”

The gathering clouds swirled around the demon lord. His red and silver mana called enough of them to cover the capital. To the demons watching below, he seemed divine. While they were ecstatic that their demon lord was this powerful, a worm of doubt niggled at the back of their minds. Hadn’t Reisen been the one who’d insulted the church? Did the demon lord truly need to go that far to eliminate someone who’d denounced the one thing other humans held sacred? It was almost as if...

As that doubt grew, the citizens all looked up. They wanted to believe the demon lord’s wrath was directed at Reisen, and not at them. But they could no longer be sure. Meanwhile, Miledi was standing between them and the demon lord, as if to protect everyone from his divine wrath with that small back of hers.

“I’ll bring the script back on track! Today will be the day I spark a war! I won’t let anyone stop me!”

Even if he had to kill a few of his citizens, Rasul was confident he could convince the populace it had been necessary to strike down Reisen. After all, she’d destroyed the demon lord’s castle, killed his generals, and even damaged Rasul himself. That was more than enough reason for Igdol’s demons to hate her.

“The demons who built up their strength during peacetime will once again declare war on the humans!”

That was the script Rasul’s lord had set out, and he would make sure it was followed. Even if Miledi was one of the pieces his lord had put into play himself, she was too dangerous to let live. This is all for the sake of my Lord!

“I’ll crush you beneath the weight of my devotion!”

A hole opened up within the sky. A pillar of light gathered at the center of the cloudy sky. The air shook and the earth trembled as Rasul primed his strongest attack. But Miledi wasn’t afraid.

“Bring it on,” she replied, smiling her fearless smile.

“Don’t think you can toy with people forever! We’ll make you pay for underestimating us, you bastard! I’ll show you that the beautiful genius mage Miledi is invincible!”

Miledi’s own sky-blue mana flared up around her, reaching up into the sky. It was as if she was baring her fangs at heaven itself. Everyone watching was spellbound. This young girl was even more dazzling than their own demon lord.

“She really isn’t embarrassed at all about calling herself beautiful, is she?”

“Personally, I’m quite fond of Miledi-chan’s confidence.”

“This is just how Miledi always is.”

“I dunno about her. Are you sure you guys all want her as your leader?”

Miledi’s four comrades lined up next to her. At the same time, they unleashed their mana as well. Oscar’s sunlight yellow mana, Meiru’s sunset orange mana, Naiz’s earth brown mana, and Vandre’s moonlight pale mana all joined Miledi’s. The light of Miledi and her comrades was far more beautiful than that of the demon lord’s. A moment later, Rasul struck. The heavens fell upon them all. A blast of light, so large that it blotted out the sky, bore down upon them. If divine punishment existed, this was what it looked like. But Miledi and the others faced it head-on.

“Obsidian Vortex— Azure Burst!”

Miledi compressed an Azure Blaze into a minuscule sphere with her Obsidian Vortex and started shooting out pillars of fire.

“Shadow Emperor— Thunder Cannon!”

Oscar’s golem raised its shield, which started spinning and emitting sparks. Twelve massive spheres of lightning formed on the edges of the shield, then fused together in the center. The golem then fired a beam of thunder comprised of a dozen Thunderlord’s Judgements fused together at Rasul.

“Serpent’s Fangs— Infinity.”

Meiru’s micro ocean of water turned into a multi-headed snake. Countless sharp steel fragments swirled around inside the current, creating a whirlpool of death. She then fired that whirlpool snake at Rasul.

“Void Cannon.”

The space around Rasul ruptured. Normally Naiz’s spatial attacks were invisible, but this one was so powerful that the tears in space could actually be seen.

“Compound Transformation.”

Vandre transformed into his dragon form and unleashed a metamorphosis magic-enhanced breath attack. The five Liberators’ spells slammed into the wall of light Rasul had sent at them. The force of the clash sent a blast of wind rippling across the entire capital. The wind was so powerful it knocked the demons down below to the ground. But even so, they continued looking up at the sky. At the five warriors battling against the heavens. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Not just because the battle was so intense. But also because humans, a beastman, and a half-dragonman, half-demon were all holding hands and fighting for a common cause. That was something that had never happened before. Had the demon lord ordered it, they would gladly have given up their lives to try and kill Miledi and her comrades. For the prosperity of the demon race, the people of the capital were willing to do anything. But even so—

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

When they saw the girl they were meant to hate fighting so hard to protect them, when they thought back to what she’d told them, they found their hearts wavering.

“I! Love! Allllllllll demoooooooooooooooooooooons!” Those words still echoed in the demons’ minds.

“You can do it...”

One demon looked down in surprise as his own child whispered that. He had no doubt his kid had said that unconsciously. Still, any other time he would have scolded him harshly. Right now, however, the father didn’t have the heart to tell his son off. Miledi and the others, of course, had no idea about the change of heart that was taking place down below. They were desperately struggling to fend Rasul’s attack off.

“Is this... how strong our enemy is?”

Slowly but surely, they were being pushed back.

“No, they’re even stronger! But that doesn’t matter! We’ll still overcome them!”

“This is a nightmare! He’s even stronger than that God’s Apostle!”

Cold sweat poured down Naiz’s back. His mana was nearing its limits.

“This is the last time I can restore everyone.”

“At this rate, we’re going to lose. Don’t you have any tricks left?”

Meiru’s complexion grew pale as she squeezed out the last of her mana to restore everyone else’s. Meanwhile, Vandre’s breath started to falter. The party was slowly pushed downward. Before long they’d hit the ground. There wasn’t much time left.

“You pathetic fools! If you refuse to be His pawns, then—”

“Disappear” was probably the last word he was going to say. But for some reason, the demon lord faltered. He cradled his head and screamed, “Stop getting in my way!”

For a moment, the light of his attack weakened.

“This is it! Everyone, now!”

Miledi used up every last drop of mana she had left. She glowed so brilliantly she outshined the press of divine judgment bearing down on them. Oscar, Naiz, Meiru, and Vandre all followed suit. They gave everything they had for one last attack, barely managing to remain conscious as they did so. At long last, the demon lord’s light started getting pushed back.

“Impossible! Where are you drawing such power from!?”

“Carve this into your memory! This is the power of mortals!”

Five different attacks shot up to the heavens, swallowing up the demon lord’s light. But then the demon lord’s power grew again. It was almost as if he truly was being granted unlimited mana from the heavens. He bore down on them again, as if to prove mortals could never match god. Their attacks reached an equilibrium state once more. Just as they started to panic, the demon lord’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Then his face twisted in fear. But a second later that expression vanished, replaced by the same hateful look he’d had earlier.

“I won’t accept this! Curse you, Liberators! One day, I’ll—”

A cocoon of silver light enveloped the demon lord. A second later something shot out of his body and vanished into mist. At the same time, his attack dissipated. Their spells all rushed toward Rasul, and they hurriedly redirected them away from the demon lord. Their attacks pierced the sky instead, blowing away the dark clouds that had gathered around the capital. They disappeared with a flash, shooting toward the heavens.

Rasul was blown away by the attacks’ shockwaves, and fell into his old throne room. Too drained to help themselves, let alone Rasul, all of them fell to the ground. Vandre ran out of mana to keep his transformation going and returned to human form. Oscar just barely managed to control his Shadow Emperor in time to stop their fall. He had the golem spread out its cloak and catch them before they hit the ground.

“N-Nice one, O-kun.”

“Pant Pant. I live to serve, Leader.”

Bantering lightly with each other, Oscar and Miledi crawled over to the golem’s palm.

“Haaah... Haaah... Did we win?”

The sky was clearing up, and beams of sunlight started filtering through the clouds. Naiz looked absently up at the sky, still not sure they’d actually won. Meiru smiled ruefully, a rarity for her, and replied, “I think it would be more accurate to say... he let us go.”

“So that was the shitty thing Miledi said wasn’t my brother. I wonder what he wanted.”

“Who knows. It couldn’t have been good, whatever it was. Anyway, we got out of this alive, so I think it’s safe to say it’s our win!”

Miledi grinned and threw her hands into the air triumphantly. Oscar and the others exchanged glances, then smiled and brought their hands up to give Miledi a high-five. Once the party had managed to catch their breath, Vandre turned toward the castle.

“Brother...”

“I saw him fall into the throne room.”

Oscar squeezed out a bit more mana to send his Shadow Emperor walking toward the castle. It stomped across the demon capital’s plaza and stretched its hand out toward the castle’s throne room. The party hopped off the golem and Oscar returned it to his Treasure Trove. They found Rasul lying among the rubble, looking completely exhausted.

“Yo, Van... Long time no see.”

“Is it... really you, Brother?”

“I sure hope so. What do you think? Do I look sane to you? Am I the brother you know?”

Rasul smiled tiredly at Vandre, and Vandre staggered over to his brother.

“Yeah, you look like the brother I know. The brother... I remember.”

“I see... Van.”

Tears sprung to Vandre’s eyes and Rasul squeezed out the words he’d always wanted to say to his precious younger brother.

“I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s fine. I’m not that weak. I’m different from how I used to be... so...”

“Yeah. You’re not like me, who got taken over by some artifact. You’re strong. No, you’ve always been strong. Way stronger than me.”

Rasul reached out and ruffled Vandre’s hair. He caressed Vandre’s braid, then reached for his own hair and tied a new one for himself. Vandre smiled at his brother. You didn’t have to bother retying it, you know. Rasul then turned to Miledi.

“Lady Reisen. It looks like I caused you quite a bit of trouble.”

“You bet you did!”

Oscar and Naiz shook their heads in exasperation while Meiru smiled happily.

“In that case, I suppose I need to pay you back somehow.”

Rasul smiled ruefully as he said that, but Miledi shook her head.

“As long as you promise not to hurt Van-chan again, I’ll forgive you.”

“I doubt that... thing will stay quiet. For centuries, he’s used the demon lord’s circlet to do whatever he wanted with this country. I can’t say for certain he won’t come back to take control of me again.”

Rasul was hesitant to make any promises to Miledi. While Vandre had managed to destroy the circlet, Rasul doubted that was the only means they had of controlling people.

“Really? It looks to me like you’re strong enough to fight him off this time.”

Rasul had had his ego sealed away for years. Despite that, he’d fought against his captor and given Miledi and the others the opening they needed.

“Besides, if that thing ever comes back, I’ll be sure to kill it for good and save you.”

“I see...”

“And if you’re still worried, then O-kun’ll figure something out for you!”

Oscar shook his head. Miledi foisting all her work onto him was nothing new. Naiz gave Oscar a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder. Sighing, Oscar opened up his Treasure Trove and pulled out a few chunks of raw ore. Enlisting Meiru and Miledi’s help, he fashioned a new circlet for Rasul. He also borrowed Rasul’s help and created a circlet packed to the brim with restoration and anti-brainwashing magic.

“Pant Pant. Here you go. Haah Haah. A circlet enchanted with your magic, our leader’s magic, and our strongest healer’s magic. Cough... I’ve also made it so that if its magic starts getting overpowered, it’ll send me a signal... Besides, if you’re a real artifact user, you should be able to get even more out of it than that. Bleh.”

“I-I see. Thank you... But are you okay?”

“I don’t want to move ever again.”

Oscar collapsed onto the floor, and the strength drained from his limbs. Miledi’s group was exhausted too, but the amount of creation magic Oscar had needed to use had really drained him.

“Fufu, you’re quite something.”

“That’s cause he’s O-kun!”

Miledi grinned proudly as she cast healing magic on Oscar. Suddenly recalling something, Rasul grinned mischievously and said, “Indeed. Even when he was up against the demon lord’s might, he said something like ‘I’ll never let Miledi fall into your hands.’”

“Huh?”

After a moment’s confusion, Miledi blushed to the tips of her ears.

“Oh my, judging by your reaction... you were conscious when that happened, weren’t you?”

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Miledi pounced on Rasul, and he snickered.

“Brother... I see you still like teasing people.”

Vandre shook his head in exasperation. He’d often been on the receiving end of Rasul’s pranks when they were young. Just then, everyone heard the thudding of footsteps nearing the room. It seemed the demon soldiers had come running over here when they saw the demon lord fall. Elga and the others, who were still lying unconscious on the floor, started groaning as well. They’d be awake soon. Vandre turned to the black-robed chimeras. Sensing his intentions, Naiz dashed over to them. His footsteps were a little unsteady because of how mana drained he was, but he managed to pick the two of them up still.

“Van, take this.”

Rasul took a transparent octagonal prism out of his pocket. This was the artifact that had bound the chimeras to his will. As he took it, Vandre stared into Rasul’s eyes. Rasul said with determination, “Go, Van. This country isn’t ready to accept someone like you or the Liberators... At least, not yet. You should serve Lady Reisen for now.”

“Brother...”

Vandre closed his eyes. Just then, a gale buffeted the party and a flock of wyverns came down through the hole in the ceiling.

“Van-sama!”

Margaretta and the others had come to pick them up. Marshal came down on another wyvern and yelled, “We got all those gray-robed guys too! Let’s get out of here!” Vandre opened his eyes and met Rasul’s gaze again. Rasul gasped. The noble look in Vandre’s eyes reminded Rasul of his younger brother’s mother, Sasrika.

“Alright, Brother. I’ll go for now. You better take care of this country, my homeland, for me.”

Vandre had referred to Igdol as his homeland. So long as Rasul was Igdol’s ruler, it would be his home. Rasul struggled to hold back tears, then nodded as firmly as he could. He then turned to the leader of the group who’d saved his younger brother and said with as much compassion as he could, “Lady, take care of my brother for me.”

“Sure... What are you gonna do?”

“I’ll start working to make my ideals a reality. I think that’s the best way I can thank you Liberators for what you’ve done.”

In other words, Rasul would try to change demon society. He’d strive to make Igdol a country of peace. He believed that was what the Liberators wanted too. Miledi brought a hand to her chest and closed her eyes, digesting Rasul’s words. After a moment, she opened them again and smiled innocently at him. Then she turned on her heel and said, “Let’s go, everyone!”

They clambered up onto a wyvern, and the party flew off into the sunset. Rasul smiled as he watched them go. He knew he’d never forget them. Not long afterward, his guards came running into the room and his generals regained consciousness. Ignoring the tumult around him, Rasul looked up at the sky and said, “I pray that when the time comes for your decisive battle... history records that us demons were your allies as well.”

Rasul would work hard to make that future come to pass. That was both his resolve as the Liberators’ ally and his declaration of war against god.