Right now, the demon army was working together with the church to eliminate the mavericks. It seemed unbelievable, but it was the truth. Rasul didn’t know if Prime Minister Karm and General Angol had been brainwashed, or if they’d been assassinated, or if they were still around and trying to fight against the wave of madness. Either way—
“I have to see what’s become of the capital with my own two eyes. That is my duty as the Demon Lord.”
If his nation had been plunged into chaos, it was Rasul’s duty to set it straight. Even if it seemed suicidal, he had to fulfill his obligations.
“Then I shall follow you, no matter where your path leads,” Lestina replied in a sad voice. She’d expected that answer.
Just then, the two of them heard a commotion in the distance. Worried they might be under attack, Rasul and Lestina hurriedly rushed outside.
“What’s going on?!”
“Your Majesty, we captured a human girl who’s been wandering around near our camp!”
“Is she a fanatic?”
“I don’t think so. She was alone. Apparently, her parents suddenly changed and she got scared and ran away from them.”
As the soldier gave his report, another one brought a girl who probably wasn’t even ten yet over to Rasul.
The soldiers were clearly on edge, so they’d treated the girl roughly enough that she was crying in fear. As cruel as it was though, such suspicion was necessary now that the world had gone insane and even children were trying to kill the Liberators.
“Hey, stop that! She’s just a child!”
To Rasul’s surprise, it was Lestina who spoke first. The soldiers looked taken aback as well. After all, Lestina was one of the demon supremacists. She’d just joined Rasul because of her undying loyalty toward him.
Lestina herself was surprised by how vehemently she’d spoken out against the soldiers’ treatment of the girl. She’d basically acted on impulse because the scared little girl had reminded her of the girl she’d saved back in the theocracy’s capital.
“Thank you for saving me, pretty lady!”
Even though she was a demon, that girl had thanked her with a smile and given her the heart-shaped stone she treasured. It had been a silly little gift, all things considered, just a regular old stone that was shaped slightly oddly. And yet, Lestina had hung onto it. In fact, she’d even tied it around a string and made a necklace out of it.
That was proof that the girl’s gratitude had begun to change Lestina’s traditionalist values. Unfortunately, in this case, the soldiers were the ones in the right. Lestina’s budding desire for coexistence had robbed her of her wariness at the worst possible moment.
“W-Wait, Lestina—”
“Don’t cry, little girl. We’ll get you fixed up right—”
As Lestina crouched down to address the girl at eye level, she opened her eyes and looked straight up at Lestina.
“Ah! Gaaaaaaaaah!”
A second later, red hot flames filled the campsite. Lestina had activated her special magic, Inflame. Both the girl and the soldiers nearby had been utterly consumed by her flames.
“Lestina!” Rasul shouted.
“Get back, Your Majesty!”
A tornado of flames whipped up around Lestina, rising to the heavens. The nearby vegetation was incinerated in an instant, and the few demons who had managed to weather the initial blow had their barriers blown away by Lestina’s more powerful firestorm.
“Punish the traitors. Hunt them all. This is all God’s will. Only by accepting his superiority can you find true happiness. Eliminate the heretics, lest you wish to see those you care about slain!”
Lestina could hear that voice echoing inside her head. A surge of faith welled up within her. Her thoughts were slowly being eroded by Ehit’s vision of “justice.” Her will as her own person grew weaker and weaker. Lestina had only just started feeling like coexistence might be possible, she hadn’t fully committed to it yet, so a powerful hypnosis spell had easily been able to swing the scales in her heart in the other direction. The only thing stopping her from losing herself completely was...
Rasul-sama...
The loyalty and love she felt toward her lord just barely kept her in check. She watched as Rasul erected a barrier and slowly but surely made his way over to her. As a result of the extreme faith that had been implanted in her, Lestina’s limiters had been removed, and she could no longer fully control her powers. In her head, she begged him not to get any closer, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but think, Ah, I guess you, of all people, won’t stop just because someone tells you to.
Rasul was the kind of man who’d willingly return to his country even knowing it was a suicidal act, all just to protect his people. There was no way he’d abandon someone who believed in him.
Surrounded by a sea of flames, Lestina drew her sword. After having killed so many of her comrades, she couldn’t bear to take the life of the one who mattered most to her.
“R-Rasul-sama...”
“Lestina! Wait! I’m going to save you!”
It was certainly possible that Rasul might be able to rescue her, but there was no guarantee, and if he failed, he would die...and that was the one thing Lestina couldn’t allow.
“I wish you luck.”
“Huh?! Wait, stop, don’t do anything stupid! That’s an order!”
Smiling, Lestina placed the blade against her own neck and said, “Farewell, my beloved Demon Lord.”
“Stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!”
For the first time in her life, Lestina betrayed one of Rasul’s orders.
Rasul watched on helplessly, his hand outstretched, as Lestina slumped to the ground, blood spilling from her neck. The few surviving soldiers hurriedly worked to extinguish the flames, calling out to Rasul, who was still standing in the center of the conflagration. However, Rasul didn’t react at all. Meanwhile, the crazed shouts of zealots who’d found new prey could be heard in the distance...and there were quite a lot of them.
“Your Majesty, we must escape! At this rate, we’ll be overrun!” one of the soldiers shouted, trying and failing to penetrate the wall of flames. He went pale as he saw a massive horde of people crest a nearby hill and start sprinting down the slope.
“Brother!”
A blast of icy wind subdued the flames, and Rasul slowly looked up.
“Get a grip! Come on, climb up here!”
The wave of fanatics had nearly reached Rasul’s position. One of the demon soldiers shouted, “Forgive me, my lord!” and scooped Rasul up into his arms before getting onto Vandre’s back. Indeed, it had been the ice dragon Vandre’s breath that had extinguished the flames.
The other demon soldiers followed suit, while Vandre blocked the barrage of spells with an ice barrier. Then, as soon as everyone was on, he launched himself into the air.
The group flew through the night in silence. No one knew what to say to Rasul. The soldiers began to wonder if Lestina might have been more than just a loyal subordinate to him, considering how devastated he was by her loss. Perhaps he had loved her just as much as she had loved him.
After a long time, Rasul finally looked up and smiled sadly at Vandre, then said, “Thanks, Van. You’re a lifesaver.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t make it in time.”
“No, you did. You rescued the Demon Lord.”
Strength was returning to Rasul’s voice. Even if he had to force it, even if only a scant few people still followed him, so long as he was the Demon Lord, he couldn’t allow himself to give in to despair.
“Van, can you let me borrow a bit of Batlam? I need a part of him that can fly.”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning on returning to the castle?! Don’t. You should come to the republic with us, brother.”
“Van, I am the Demon Lord,” Rasul replied, his tone gentle, but filled with such majesty that even Vandre felt like kneeling before him. The other soldiers must have felt the same way, as the resignation vanished from their faces, replaced by newfound resolve.
There might still have been demons left in Igdol who hadn’t been brainwashed. They might have been waiting for the Demon Lord to come save them. In which case, Rasul couldn’t abandon them.
“I’m going to do what I must. Make sure you do the same,” Rasul said in a stern voice, though he patted Vandre’s back as he did.