No way! I can’t believe Elazonia would attack us like this! Shinichi had considered the possibility that she would attack them directly, but he had never once considered the possibility that she would use a surprise attack by killing a human. While everyone was frozen in shock, Elazonia wrapped a hand around Rino’s neck, lifting her in the air. “Ack—!” “Release my daughter!” shouted the Demon King, radiating with magic and anger as his beloved daughter shrieked. But Elazonia’s face remained cold and calm, holding Rino in front of her like a shield. “Would a foul demon dare order me?” “Gah—!” She squeezed her hand tighter around Rino’s neck to show that she would snap it if they resisted. The Demon King could only grind his teeth in silence. Rino desperately tried to call to her father. “Daddy… Fey…” “Rino?” “Hurry…! Save her!” Though she had been torn in two and had drawn her last breath, he could resurrect her if her head remained unharmed. Even though her own life was in danger, even though Fey had been the vessel that brought their enemy here, Rino was begging for him to save the life of the girl who she had promised to show around the demon world. “Rino, your grace knows no bounds…!” cried the Demon King, tears of happiness running down his face. For a moment, his daughter made him forget where he was and what was happening. However, Elazonia snorted and smiled coldly at the exchange. “How pathetic! To be deceived by that fake doll.” “Was Fey a doll?” asked Rino. “You are a fool for not realizing,” replied Elazonia, hitting Rino with an icy-cold glare. It was filled with scorn. Then she raised her empty hand toward Fey to cast a spell. “Return to atomic dust. Disintegrate.” Light blasted out of her palms and swallowed up Fey’s dead body, breaking down the bonds between atoms, turning the body into tiny particles. What was left was a white dust, something destroyed thoroughly enough that it could never be resurrected. “Feeey—!” shrieked Rino. “Kneel before me, unless you wish the same fate upon your daughter,” ordered Elazonia to the Demon King. She continued to hold Rino in front of her like a shield as the girl sobbed and screamed. Not even the Blue Demon King could fight back. “Curse you…!” spat the Demon King, grinding his teeth from humiliation. His jaw sounded like it would break. He bent his massive legs to kneel. As Celes watched, she overcame the pain in her back to swear at the Goddess. “You clearly know no shame! You’re dirtier than Sir Shinichi!” “A dark elf, huh? The one who betrayed humans and joined teams with the demons. You are the one who will know shame. Hyper Gravity.” “Argh!” Celes’s body was smacked into the floor as the multiplied gravity yanked her down. Blood trickled out of her mouth. “Celes?!” cried Rino again. “Shut it. How irritating,” ordered Elazonia, squeezing Rino’s neck again. “Gah…!” Rino gasped painfully for air, like someone drowning in the ocean. That tore open old wounds in Shinichi, lighting a fire of rage within him, burning away his confusion. How long was I going to sit there like an idiot?! Get ahold of yourself. Everything has turned to shit, but we haven’t lost yet! “Demon King. Surrender to me, and I will let your little girl live,” threatened the Goddess. Shinichi racked his brain. There’s no reason to think she’ll keep her promise. She’ll finish off the rest of us as soon as she’s done with the King. The Goddess never revealed herself in front of her believers, staying cloaked in mystery. But she had shown herself to Shinichi’s team. That alone was reason enough to kill them. Shinichi decided that going along with the Goddess wasn’t an option, scrambling to think of an alternative solution. The Goddess took Rino as a hostage. Why? Because she wouldn’t get out of a fight with the Demon King unharmed. He was certain about that first guess. Elazonia seemed to radiate more magic than the Demon King, but it didn’t feel like there was enough of a difference to put her in an entirely different league—one that would make the Demon King hesitate to fight her. That means she can’t just kill Rino. Rino couldn’t even match Shinichi in combat, for she hadn’t matured fully and possessed an empathy that was off the charts. However, she was the daughter of the Blue Demon King and the Blue Princess of War. Her small body housed the greatest magical potential of any demon. She might have expended some magic when she helped with Element Conversion and Teleport. But there’s no way the Goddess could kill her if she redirected her magic into defense. Even if the Goddess did manage to kill Rino, she wouldn’t be able to break down her atoms like she did with Fey. If Rino’s body was intact, then the Demon King or Celes could resurrect her. But I don’t want to make Rino go through that, even though I know she could be resurrected even if she died… That said, there’s no other way out of this situation. Shinichi was prepared for her to hate him. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but Elazonia seemed to have read his plans and cast a spell before he could say a word. “Forge the ties between atoms and give new life. Create Life,” she said. The light from her palm swirled in front of Shinichi’s eyes. It rippled around the stone of the floor, changing the atoms’ arrangements to give birth to a life. It created a girl shorter than Rino with her shoulder-length black hair neatly trimmed. Her eyes and mouth were closed, making her look like a sleeping princess. She had none of the personality of that energetic dumbass. But there was no way Shinichi could forget that face, even though it’d been eight years since he last saw it. “…Nozomi,” whispered Shinichi. The figure of the girl who’d drowned in the ocean looked exactly as she had at the time, collapsing into his arms. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth. “Are…you alive?” Her eyes were still closed, but her chest was rising and falling as she breathed, and he could feel the gentle beating of her heart. “Impossible! Is that her?!” said Celes, knowing who it was. “Who is that?!” asked Arian, clueless. “……” They called out to Shinichi, but his mind had gone blank. He couldn’t reply. All he could do was sit there cradling the body of his childhood friend. There was no way the Goddess Elazonia was going to let the moment pass when she managed to render the person who acted as the brains of the operation powerless. “Creating and destroying life is simple for me. When you finally understand, you will submit to me,” said Elazonia. The hand on Rino’s neck glowed with magical power. “…I understand,” said the Demon King, forcing the words from his lips after a moment’s hesitation. “Stop, don’t—,” shouted Shinichi, frantic even though he was still engulfed by confusion. But Elazonia’s gold, sparkling eyes pierced him. She delicately wagged a finger at him, as if to say, I assume you don’t want to lose that girl again. “—Ngh.” He would lose the warmth he held in his arms: His childhood friend would die again. Fear gripped his body like thorny vines. And that moment of hesitation laid ground for this outcome. “I, Ludabite, the Blue Demon King, submit to you, the Goddess Elazonia,” the Demon King managed, stringing the words together carefully. His only desire was to save his beloved daughter. A smile appeared for the first time on the Goddess Elazonia’s face when she heard him. “Sleep for an eternity, wrapped in icy arms. Ice Coffin.” All the heat was leeched from the air, layering ice on the Demon King’s huge body. Having promised to submit, the Demon King didn’t resist, and he was quickly encased in its pillar. “Daddy!” screeched Rino. Elazonia flung her over in Shinichi’s direction. She then launched a gigantic Fireball, one that would burn them until nothing remained. Shinichi couldn’t run. All he could see was the red flames growing larger and— “Hi-yah!” Arian leaped in front of them, slicing the attack in two. The two parts split and missed them, causing huge explosions over their shoulders. The Red Hero stood face-to-face with the Goddess. “Run!” she shouted. “Arian…?” asked Shinichi. “Hurry!” she shouted again. Her hands were shaking slightly. She knew there was no way she could defeat the Goddess, but she stood there trying to save the people she loved. The Goddess’s face twisted in distaste as she looked at Arian. “Fool,” she said with a cold, disdainful stare. With that, Arian’s status as a hero, the Goddess’s symbol on her right hand, began to shine. Magic was getting extracted from her body. “Aaaaaaaahhh—!” Arian let out a blood-curdling scream as magic flowed out of her body, absorbed by Elazonia, who shined even more. “Have you already forgotten that you pledged that body to me?” Elazonia spoke of the binding contract with the heroes—to give their body and magic and even life if necessary to the Goddess in exchange for her protection. There was no way a hero could resist Elazonia as she was the holder of that contract. That’s why Arian switched her magic sword to her left hand, still screaming in pain as her body was drained of its power, and— “Aaaaaaah—!” —she cut off her own right hand, including the proof that she was a hero. “Hmm…,” said Elazonia, slightly surprised. But Arian was losing too much blood. She fell to her knees. Elazonia looked at her and her expression returned to its emotionless state. “How pitiful, half-dragon girl. I will end your pain.” She began to cast a spell that wouldn’t even leave dust behind, but Arian gripped her right arm with her left hand to stem the flow of blood and forced herself to stand. “I won’t let you…because I’m Shinichi’s hero!” “Arian…,” whispered Shinichi, forgetting the warmth from the young girl in his arms for a moment as he watched Arian struggling to save them. What should I do? What can I do?! The Demon King was captured and imprisoned in ice. Arian had lost a hand. Celes was pressed against the floor by Hyper Gravity. Even if she could move, she didn’t have any magic left. Rino had magic left, but she was so confused and frightened by Fey’s death and her father’s imprisonment that she collapsed on the ground crying, not even able to run. Am I going to die here? He’d gained the heroes’ hatred through protecting the demons by doing whatever he liked. He had prepared himself for the possibility that he’d be killed someday. But he just couldn’t accept that he would die without attempting to protect Arian, Rino, and Celes. But I don’t have any moves left. He’d run out of his genius plans. Elazonia was gathering the destructive light of magic in her palm. Before she could launch the spell, a magic circle suddenly appeared below their feet. “What?!” cried Shinichi in shock as light surrounded him. He felt dizzy as he disappeared from the Demon King’s castle. It was unfortunate that it happened while Elazonia was in the middle of casting a spell. It meant she wasn’t able to prevent it from going off. All she could do was watch them escape. “Not too bad,” she murmured to the empty room, clicking her tongue in annoyance. She stared at the Blue Demon King encased in ice. “How fancy. Using delayed spells.” They had escaped with the help of a delayed Teleport spell. The Demon King must have cast the spell in the few seconds when her attention wasn’t on him. It must have been when she was casting Create Life to shut down that dangerous advisor of his. “Your memories indicated you were a dimwit, but I suppose you are a fair strategist yourself.” She was mildly impressed as she searched the area, but she couldn’t find signs of any demons. That single moment had allowed not only Shinichi’s lot to escape but also almost a hundred other demons in the castle. “What powerful magic.” Even though he was the detested enemy, she affectionately stroked him through the ice. “Everything was worth it.” She had gained something from her roundabout strategy of wriggling her way in under cover and waiting for the right opportunity. She relished her victory for a moment then peered at the spot where Shinichi had disappeared, staring deep below the floor. “Is that where you ran to? So troublesome.” She clicked her tongue again but quickly raised her head like she’d lost interest. “There is nothing he can do anyway.” She had already captured the Demon King. He was the only one capable of harming her. The half dragon was a threat because of her potential, but as long as she was a hero, she wouldn’t be a real enemy. By the time the Demon King’s daughter had grown enough to attempt revenge, Elazonia would have accomplished her goal anyway. “Enjoy what little life you have left,” said Elazonia toward the depths below the surface, a cold smile on her face. And then she disappeared with the Demon King encased in ice. After a long period of dizziness, Shinichi found himself standing in a blue field of grass. “This is…” Everything in his sight was bathed in blue. The strange landscape gave him the impression that he’d gone to the afterlife, but Celes refuted his first assumption, standing up on unsteady legs now that she was released from Hyper Gravity. “This is the demon world,” she said and pointed upward. His eyes followed her finger, and he craned his neck up to see the light that lit this realm. “The blue sun,” he said. In the russet sky, the light was a cool blue but still gave off warmth. This was the sun under the ground. It expressed more clearly than any words that this was a world entirely different from the surface. “Why are we in the demon world?” “My guess is that His Highness used his final bit of power before he was captured…,” said Celes. Shinichi turned around and saw that they weren’t alone. There were all the faces he had gotten to know at the Demon King’s castle—Sirloin the orc, Kalbi the minotaur, each one of them baffled at the strange and sudden events. “Oh my God, Arian?!” cried Shinichi, suddenly remembering how she had cut her right hand off just before. When he looked frantically around for her, he found her collapsed on the ground with Rino crying over her, unbound from her chains. “Arian, hold on!” she begged. “Rino, calm down. Start by using healing magic to stop the bleeding,” said Shinichi. “Stop the bleeding… Umm, uh…ugh!” Tears streamed down her face as she panicked and tried to cast a Healing spell, but all she could see in her head was Fey and her father. She couldn’t form a solid image to cast the spell. “Lady Rino, let me try,” offered Celes, trying to force some last reserve of magic from herself to cast the spell. But right as she did, a gust of wind hit them. “What…?” “Heal all wounds, Full Healing.” They sat there dumbfounded as a figure appeared and cast a spell. It didn’t just instantly heal Arian’s severed hand but Celes and Shinichi’s wounds, too. Their jaws dropped open in shock when they stared at the woman whose hair was bluer than the sun. A soft smile appeared on her face. “It’s been too long, Rino, Celes.” She was youthful and beautiful with the appearance of a human. She could be called a young woman. But they knew those slender arms could pierce through steel and that magic could level mountains. She was the wife of the almighty Blue Demon King, the only person who could compare to his strength. She was— “Mommy?!” “My Lady?!” Rino and Celes cried out in surprise and delight at the sight of the Blue Princess of War, Regina Petrara Verlum. That was followed by loud whoops from the demons when they realized who had made an appearance. “Lady Regina, you’ve returned! Oink!” “His Highness was doing so poorly ever since Lady Rino went on her trip. Moo!” “Please, please. I can’t understand a thing you say when you all speak at once,” said Regina with a wry smile, trying to pipe down the demons as they made a big fuss, failing to explain things properly. “All right, what exactly has happened? I get the impression it’s something fun.” She turned to Shinichi and Arian in amusement—they were humans who shouldn’t be in the demon world. “And I don’t see my husband. Has he wandered off and left our precious daughter all alone?” “Well…,” started Celes, but her words stuck in her throat. “Daddy…,” said Rino, tears welling up in her swollen eyes. Regina looked at everyone and the strange situation and a fleeting grimace passed over her face.
Chapter 62
15 min read