Chapter 57

“Guh…” “He has driven off the very creature that has tormented us for years. And he did it alone. As demons, we should know when to respect someone who wields true power.” The demons groaned and grumbled. It was hard to respect an orc. It didn’t sit well with them. But Sequence was right. The dragon crisis was over. The orc had defeated an enemy that the demons had been unable to defeat, no matter how hard they tried, for the past several years. Of course, there was always a chance that the dragon would come back, but to think… They could go out in the daylight, the sunshine, for the first time in years… “Right… I won’t give respect to the orc race. But I do agree that we at least have to acknowledge the might of the Orc Hero…” Demons were a noble race. Flaunting their superiority over others was their highest priority. But it was only because their power and wisdom were so vast. Because their existence was superior. But how can you be noble if you can’t acknowledge when others have surpassed you? Satisfied with the response, Sequence turned back to the woman. “Now, my daughter, Asmonadia.” “Yes, Father?” “I’ve already promised you to Bash.” “Oh, I see. That works out, then. But…why?” “Because I thought you were dead.” “I would have died. If not for that Hero who had saved me on the snowy plain.” The woman, Asmonadia, recalled the incident that had happened just the other day. She was leading a group of hot-blooded young warriors on an adventure to slay the dragon. She was sure they could win. The warriors were young, yes, but skilled. They were all survivors of the relentless pursuit of the humans. If they could create a back door into the dragon’s den and launch a surprise attack while it slept, then yes, it’d be a tough fight, but they could defeat it. That’s what she thought. The result was a disastrous defeat. The dragon quickly noticed the coming of the demons, though they’d used magic to cloak themselves, and it used its massive body to turn several people into minced meat in an instant. With each swing of the dragon’s claws, with each thrust of its fangs, one by one, they died. Every demon’s magic attack was repelled by the dragon’s scales, and no matter how many times they thrust their swords and spears at it, they could barely inflict a scratch. Asmonadia realized how foolish she’d been to think that there was ever any chance of winning. The dragon was in a completely different class. After several people were killed, they decided to retreat. But that had been a mistake, too. Although they’d managed to escape the nest, the dragon caught up with them on the snowy plains, and they had no place to hide. They were all charred to a crisp by its breath, completely helpless to the attack. As a high demon, Asmonadia had high magical resistance and thus somehow managed to avoid instant death. So she had lain, filled with regret, surrounded by the corpses of the young people who had believed in her and followed her. She didn’t want to die like this, eyes melting, lungs burning, muscles carbonized, unable to move. That’s when Bash appeared. He’d sprinkled fairy dust on Asmonadia and carried her carbonized body on his back to the Gije Fort. This was risky, as the dragon might still have been circling nearby. “Still, a dead body wouldn’t have been much of a reward. It’s fortunate that I lived.” She wouldn’t forget. She could not forget. That moment when her life was saved, and she’d been flooded with relief. The warmth of that broad back. The kindness he’d showed in avenging her friends’ deaths. “I will recompense him for my father’s flippantness. I will reward him for saving us demons from the dragon, for saving me as I lay dying from the dragon’s fire…” “Hmm.” Sequence nodded deeply in agreement with his daughter’s words. “Well then, I will leave immediately.” Asmonadia, the last living daughter of the Dark General Sequence, left the conference room. She set out to find him… Bash, the Orc Hero. It was sure to be a tough journey. Most communication with the outside world had been cut off because of the dragon, and the humans remained wary of demons, and there was little sign of repairing their relationship… Not to mention how Popratika’s gang had been causing all that trouble earlier… Still, Sequence was confident that his daughter would overcome the challenge and marry Bash. After all, Bash, the Orc Hero, had made his way here. There was no reason why a demon who was to become his wife couldn’t make her way back. A marriage between the two would improve the status of the orc race. Just as the Orc Hero wanted. Satisfied, Sequence looked around the conference room again. The demons seemed confused over the dragon’s departure. It was like they didn’t know what to do with this sudden good fortune. Or the realization that an orc had been better than them again. Out the window, they could see a bright-blue sky… Without a dragon in it. There were so many things they wanted to do now that the dragon was gone! The demons were going to be busy going forward. “Shame I missed hearing Bash’s heroic tale.” Sequence’s lips curled in a grin. He imagined all of the stories there would be in the future, about the Hero who had departed without even sticking around to be thanked…